Anyone but You
by bodyinmotion
Summary: 2013 UPDATED. Sara and Catherine are taught important lessons about the meanings of teamwork and friendship when two cases throw them together in ways they never planned. Rated for mature subject matter.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: CSI and characters aren't mine and never will be.**

**A/N: This is a bit of an experiment...and may turn out fairly angsty, you've been warned! (It's not angsty yet, mind you). This piece will be Sara/Cath but it's going to take a while to get there, so if you stick with it, I promise good things in the future! I'll also do my best not to leave a six month gap between updates ;) Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**

"Anything good?" came Sara's voice as she entered the break room looking for her first cup of coffee.

Catherine was leaning against the counter as the coffee maker stuttered out the aromatic liquid. She had her face buried in one of the magazines from the small coffee table in front of the boys' TV. From the two beefy football players ramming into each other pictured on the cover Sara figured she could guess the answer but she chose to ask anyways.

Catherine shrugged. "Did you know over 10% of retired football players admitted to taking steroids at some point in their careers?" She asked without looking up.

Sara wrinkled her nose. "Uh, ew."

"Yeah."

Sara picked up her mug from beside the sink, wiped it out with a paper towel then leant against the counter on the other side of the coffee maker, drumming her fingers along the side of the mug. She liked the way her nails clicked neatly against the ceramic. Normally her nails weren't long enough to make the sound clearly. She made a mental note to take better care of her nails, if only to be able to make crisp clicking sounds against a variety of surfaces. She glanced over at Catherine, still engrossed in some article. She watched as the blonde sighed and started rapidly flipping through the pages. She slapped the magazine down against her thighs and turned towards the coffee maker, which was still chugging away.

Sara watched Catherine's eyes grow wide in frustration.

"I swear the damn thing takes longer to brew the same amount of coffee every night". She said looking over at her taller companion.

"Have you timed it?"

Catherine gave her an odd look. "No."

"Then how do you know it takes longer?"

Catherine rolled her eyes. '_Here we go...'_ she thought. "I don't. It just FEELS that way. Is it allowed to FEEL longer without having to be scientifically proven?!" she exclaimed.

Sara looked taken aback. "Sorry" she muttered.

"Sara, look, I know it's my job to ask questions and I'm sure that on a slow night timing the coffee maker down to the nanosecond would be a fascinating experiment, but right now I'm in a crappy mood and I just want a hot cup jammed full of sugar and caffeine to keep myself going for the next hour."

"It was a valid question" Sara added in her own defense.

"Yes, ok it was. But Sara you" she stopped, fighting with her words, "you just, you don't have to be such a smartass all the time."

"Right" said Sara slowly, turning away slightly and gazing down at her mug. She was startled by the warm hand on her arm. She looked back at Catherine, realizing the older woman was trying to catch her gaze. She still found extended periods of eye contact with the blonde slightly unsettling, but Catherine had a way of capturing her attention that made it very hard to look away.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you" Catherine apologized. She gave a small grin at the confused look on Sara's face. "Yes that was the sound me apologizing. Don't get used to it. And you're still a smartass!" she added, letting go and turning back to the machine which had just let out a loud beep to signal the end of the brewing cycle.

Sara let out her breath and then poured herself a cup as Catherine rooted in the fridge for the cream.

"So what's your night look like?" Catherine asked as she footed the fridge shut, cream in one hand, water bottle in the other.

"Don't know yet. I wrapped a case last shift, so I have to wait for assignments. You?"

"What do you think?"

"Paperwork." answered both women simultaneously. Sara grinned as Catherine glared out into the hall at an invisible Grissom.

"Gotta love it, right?" Catherine said with a slight shake of her head.

"Yeah."

"mmm, what is that wonderful smell?" asked Greg as he entered the room taking a deep whiff of the air.

"Hey Greg" greeted Sara and Catherine.

"Hello sexy" was his reply as he suavely draped an arm around Sara's shoulders and puckered his lips.

Sara laughed lightly and shoved him off. Greg wasn't a jerk, he was just a playful little boy stuck in a lab tech's body. Greg sauntered over to the coffee maker to serve himself. Coffee in hand he turned to face Catherine:

"Why hello there Catherine, may I say you look especially hot this evening." He took care to place his emphasis on 'hot'.

"Thank you" she answered darkly.

Nick and Warrick entered shortly afterwards, discussing football.

"You read that article about ex NFL players?" Nick asked his friend as he too made his trip to the coffee machine.

"Yeah" answered Warrick following Nick across the room.

Greetings were exchanged between the four CSIs and Greg. They took up various spots around the room, each sipping a cup of coffee and waiting for Grissom to arrive with assignments.

"Whose brew is this?" asked Nick pointing to his mug after a moment.

"That would be mine," replied Greg, "you're welcome."

Nick nodded and turned back to his mug. The coffee was definitely better tonight then it had been for the last few weeks. Lab coffee was famous for its appalling taste which according to Grissom could be likened to motor oil.

At that moment Grissom himself arrived waving several post-it like assignment slips.

"Assignments. Nick, Sara car reported stolen last week turned up in a ditch just off of Lakeshore Rd. Warrick, you and I are on a four-nineteen at the Stardust Country Club. Catherine—" he was cut off as she interrupted him.

"Paperwork, I know."

"Good. Warrick" he inclined his head towards the door and the tall man followed him out. Sara and Nick followed leaving Catherine and Greg alone in the room.

"Ooh, paperwork" he teased as he bounded past.

"Shut up. Don't you have enough to do?"

"Yup."

"Maybe you should get started."

"Yes m'am." Greg sauntered off down the hall.

_**TBC...feedback much appreciated, as always!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own them. CSI and characters are property of their respective owners.**

**A/N: Ok second chapter. I have most of the story planned out, so I'm hoping for regular updates but I make no promises for how regular once school picks up again.**

Sara made her way down the hall past the DNA lab. Greg was seated at a stool evidently listening to some heavy metal band, thankfully through his headphones, bobbing his head in time. Sara smiled fondly at him as he looked up and waved before resuming the furious head-bobbing. Shaking her head slightly she made her way to the locker room. For once she was leaving on time. Her shifts over the last week had been relatively uneventful.

They found the car thief, a man by the name of Darrel Robinson, previously arrested for petty theft with prints in the system. Robinson was the proud owner of a sketchy second hand dealership at the edge of town. The shiny Lexus had been just too tempting for his sticky fingers and he had nabbed it using his wide knowledge of cars, hoping to snag a deal at his run down lot. Apparently the car was raising a few too many questions among his potential customers, so he had driven it out of town and dumped it along the banks of Lake Mead. Too bad he had chosen to dump the car during high tourist season along a well-travelled road. If he hadn't it may have taken police more than a few days to locate and collect the missing vehicle. Save for a few dents and scratches the car was in mint condition and the owners were happy to have it back, while Mr. Robinson would be looking at a hefty fine, 5 years in prison and the loss of his business.

That case reminded Sara of the many stories she had read in the fabled Darwin Awards books. Mr. Robinson seemed to be the ideal candidate at risk of eliminating himself from the gene pool out of sheer stupidity. At least it had been a clear cut case. Find the car, collect prints, run prints, bring in a suspect and walk away with a signed confession. During the interview, Sara had actually found she almost missed dealing with dead bodies.

As she arrived in the locker room she immediately noticed the green post-it stuck to her locker. The note read: '_Sara: I timed the coffee maker last night and again today. I even measured out the amount of coffee and water I used and no one was around to alter my experimental conditions. I'll have you know that machine took exactly 9 seconds longer tonight than it did yesterday.'_ It was signed '_Catherine'._

Sara snorted, and contemplated retaliating by writing a note back with some other smartass question or comment but she couldn't immediately come up with one and she decided it was better to leave things the way they were. She collected her jacket from her locker, and twirling her car keys around her fingers set off towards the front door.

On her way out, she noticed Catherine and Warrick in one of the labs. She considered popping in to say goodbye, but when she saw the defeated look on Catherine's face and Warrick's reassuring smile and hand on her shoulder she thought better of it and strolled out into the parking lot.

Halfway home, her cell phone beeped. When she arrived at a red light she leaned over to check the message. It was from Catherine. Sara found it odd that Catherine was texting her. If she scrolled through her inbox she was pretty sure only one of the fifty or so messages was from Catherine and it was definitely work-related. Before she could check the content of the message a horn blasted behind her. Morning traffic usually contained people of little patience and today was no exception. She would have to wait until the next red light. It came soon enough and she flipped open the phone and pressed the button to view the message. The single question was ultimately confusing. It read: _'Can I come over?'_

"What?" Sara asked her phone aloud before typing the same thing in reply. Remembering to drive when the light changed again she didn't get to look at her phone until she got home. Stepping out of her car in the apartment building lot she checked her phone again. Realizing she never pressed 'send' she opted for phoning Catherine instead. Dialling as she walked, she listened to the dull ring as she waited for the elevator. After three rings Catherine picked up.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi, Catherine?"

"Yes this is Catherine. Is this Sara?"

"Yeah. Um, I got your text."

"You did? Good. So, is that ok?"

Sara paused. She wasn't really sure if she wanted Catherine to come over. The two weren't really friends and she was really really bad at dealing with people's personal problems. Thinking back to the look on Catherine's face as she left the lab she had the sneaking suspicion personal problems were on the menu for discussion this morning. Catherine's voice brought her back to the present.

"Sara? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. Um yeah I guess you can come over. What's up?" the elevator arrived as she asked and she hoped she wouldn't lose the signal inside the shaft. Unfortunately she never heard Catherine's answer as the phone cut out as soon as the elevator doors were closed.

"Damn!"

_**TBC ...feedback much appreciated...as in please take a moment to leave me a quick comment! Thanks for reading.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: obviously still not mine.**

**A/N: Here's chapter three. Thanks for the reviews so far, they make me happy.**

Sara ran a hand through her hair as the doorbell rang. She moved to answer the door, nearly tripping over the strap of her bag along the way. Kicking the bag back a foot, she peered through the small hole in the door. Sure enough, there stood Catherine. Sara watched for a second as Catherine too ran a hand through her short strawberry blonde hair and looked around the hall. For the first time Sara noticed how much she liked the cut. Realizing she was staring at Catherine through her front door snapped Sara back into the present. Cursing herself she flung the door open.

Catherine caught sight of the wild look on Sara's face and chuckled.

"I was about to call you again. Were you busy?"

Sara faltered. How was she supposed to answer that? In order to avoid looking like an idiot she opted for: "Yeah, sorry about the wait. I was putting things away in the bedroom."

Catherine raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She had heard footsteps approach the door, a muffled thud and then nothing. She silently wondered whether Sara was reconsidering letting her in. Knowing that dropping in on the brunette was probably awkward enough, she let Sara's lie go. She wasn't however, going to stand in the hallway all day.

"May I come in?"

"What? Oh, right. Sorry." Sara shook her head, stepped aside and Catherine in. Catherine set her purse down next to Sara's bag on the floor and left her shoes on the mat.

"Um, wherever you want" Sara gestured to the various places to sit in her living room. Catherine looked around. The apartment was simple but nice. The front entry way opened directly into the living room to the right and a small desk sat close to the door. A small closet was located to the left, and a wall was directly in front. As Catherine moved into the living room she saw the kitchen. The living room and kitchen were connected, with the kitchen on the left, around the corner from the entrance. The kitchen was impressive: deep colored wood and a nice counter, with lots of cupboards and room to move around. From the take out menus littering the fridge door, Catherine guessed the kitchen had limited use.

Sara stood behind the counter. "Do you want coffee? I was about to make some."

"Sure. Please."

"I promise this machine takes the same amount of time to brew each time."

Catherine grinned. "You got my note then."

"Yeah, very funny. I'm glad you came to the same conclusion I did."

"Which was?"

"The coffee maker at the lab is inconsistent."

"And how did you figure that out?"

"I once timed it every night for a week. I was sure it was defective. I've since realized it's just a little finicky. It sometimes takes a whole minute longer just because it takes that long to warm up."

"You timed the machine every night for a week."

"Yes."

"As in you knew that I was right when I said it was taking longer and you still had to bait me?"

Sara was silent. Catherine was looking at her with her head tilted slightly and her eyes wide. After a moment, Catherine rolled her eyes and sighed.

"When did you do this little experiment of yours?"

"I did it on my own time. I thought I would come in really early and set it up. After three days I was getting inconclusive results so I kept going and I clearly had too much time on my hands."

"Clearly."

Sara could feel the blush climbing up her cheeks, so she turned away and set about getting mugs down from a nearby cupboard. While she rummaged, Catherine spoke up.

"I was admiring your kitchen. From all the menus stuck to your fridge I'd say you don't cook much."

Sara turned. "Unfortunately no."

"Shame. It's a very nice kitchen."

"I know. I'm embarrassed that I don't cook more often. I picked this apartment because of the kitchen. I made a pact with myself that when I moved to Vegas I was going to drop at least one bad habit. I was already working on quitting smoking so I decided I would change my eating habits and make myself cook more. I thought that if I had a nice kitchen I would want to spend more time in it."

"And?"

"Well it worked for a while. And then I hit a string of tough cases and I was at work all the time. It wasn't practical for me to cook anymore. Pretty quickly I fell back into my speed dial take-out dinners."

By this point Sara had two mugs sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen, along with the cream and sugar. She poured the steaming coffee into the mugs. After setting the pot back on the holder she picked up a mug and headed to the chair in her living room.

Catherine fixed her coffee and then came to sit in the loveseat adjacent to Sara. They sat sipping their drinks in silence. Catherine was looking at the various art pieces on Sara's walls: photographs of trees, a big blue butterfly in a glass case, several abstract paintings. They were all small pieces, but they fit the room well. Her eyes settled back on Sara. She was fascinated by the myriad of emotions she could see crossing her dark features. The shifts were subtle, but the more Catherine looked at her, the clearer the shifts became. All of a sudden Sara looked up and caught her staring. It was Catherine's turn to blush as Sara asked:

"What?"

Catherine chose to give an honest answer. "I was just wondering what you were thinking. I can practically see the cogs turning in your head."

"Oh. I was thinking that just now was probably the most we've ever spoken to each other outside of work. I mean, we've worked together for a year and a half, but we don't really talk. Other than about cases."

It was true. Though they had shared many discussions at the lab, they had only had very brief conversations together off the clock and even then they were always with the guys.

"You're right. We don't talk much. I think I've learned more about you in the last fifteen minutes than I have since I met you."

Sara nodded. She took another sip of her coffee and then set her mug on the coffee table. "I'm just wondering why you came over. My phone cut out in the elevator so I missed whatever you said."

"Is that what happened. I tried to call you back but I couldn't get through. You had already said I could come over so I did."

"I'm not even going to ask how you got my address."

"I am a CSI you know."

"Yeah I know."

"I guess I just wanted someone to talk to."

"Why me? We aren't even friends."

It was out her mouth before she had thought it through and she instantly regretted it. The hurt look on Catherine's face deepened the regret. She quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."

Catherine bit her tongue and forced back a sharp reply. Instead she asked, "What did you mean?"

Sara considered the question carefully before answering. "All I meant was that if you were looking for someone to talk to, wouldn't you have been more comfortable with someone you know better? Like Nick or Warrick or your sister even?"

"I don't know Sara. I guess I wanted to talk to you _because_ you don't know me very well. I also know you're honest with me when I ask you your opinion. I've already talked to Warrick and he suggested I phone you and for some reason I did. But if you don't want to, I can leave."

"Don't leave."

"Okay. I get that me dropping in on you is a little strange."

"Yes it is, but: I'm happy to listen Cath. I have to warn you though; I'm not very good at dealing with other people's problems. I can't even handle my own!" Sara stopped, panicking slightly. Having Catherine in her living room was making her nervous and her mouth was talking without her brain's permission. Already she had told her more about herself than she regularly spilled to strangers while heavily intoxicated.

"Okay" said Catherine slowly. Taking a breath she began, "I got an odd phone call today."

"Oh. Who was it from?"

"Eddie."

_**TBC.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: don't own them.**

**A/N: Ok, chapter four has arrived. It's a little longer than the previous three. Happy New Year all!**

"Eddie. Like your ex-husband Eddie?"

"Yes that one. He phoned last night before shift. He calls every now and then, and Lindsey spends a weekend with him here and there."

"I take it you would rather she didn't..."

"He is her dad; she's his responsibility as much as she is mine. I can't tell him he can't see Lindsey. Besides, she adores him. She's too young to understand why we don't live together anymore, and she gets really upset when we fight."

"How old is she now?"

"Eight."

"Wow."

"Anyways, he started talking about getting more involved with Lindsey. Then he was talking about how he was finally going to hit it big as a producer, that he had all these gigs lined up, on and on about how great everything was going to be. Now, I know Eddie, and I know at least half of what he said was total bull. He's never followed through on any of his plans."

Sara didn't say anything. She wasn't really sure what to say, and she wasn't sure she was supposed to say anything yet. She had only volunteered to listen after all. To show she was listening, she simply nodded. That seemed to be the appropriate thing to do as Catherine began to speak again.

"There was a point where I would have believed him and been overjoyed, hell when I married him I was just waiting for someone like him to offer me a new life, but now all I see is a pathetic man trying to worm his way back into my bed. And I will not go for all his bull shit!" Catherine was becoming more and more animated as she spoke, her voice rising steadily in volume. Apologizing for her outburst she said, "You can probably guess how the end of that conversation went."

Sara nodded again.

"You can say something you know."

"I know. I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"How about you say 'good for you Catherine, Eddie's a real bastard'. God Sara, have you never had a conversation?"

Sara cracked a wry smile. "Sorry," she said, "it's a social skill I haven't mastered yet."

Catherine smiled back. "I get that. But seriously, no girl talks? You never got together with your friends and bitched about men?"

There was a pause, and then Catherine burst out laughing. Sara gave her a perplexed look.

"I'm sorry. I was just picturing you and bunch of girls in pyjamas gossiping about boys."

"Why is that funny?"

Sara's confusion only made Catherine laugh harder. "Because Sara, it's absurd!"

"Oh thanks" was Sara's sarcastic reply.

"Really? Sara I don't mean that as a criticism, but I do have a very hard time picturing you doing something like that."

"Well you're right. I never really had sleepovers as a kid, and we certainly weren't girls in pyjamas giggling and painting our nails. Most of my close friends were guys actually, they still are. Don't get me wrong though, I have definitely had my share of bitching, especially in college."

"Good."

"I had this one friend; she used to call me all the time to complain about her boyfriends. Her relationships were always disastrous; she was prone to picking the worst guys. Eventually she got so fed up that one night she declared she was going to take a leaf out of my book."

There went her mouth again, most definitely against her brain's better judgement. Sara was about to start panicking again when she realized her last statement could mean any number of things and that Catherine wasn't necessarily going to interpret it the same way she did.

"Which was?" Catherine asked following Sara's story.

"Take a vow of celibacy." Sara figured it was as close to a truthful answer as she could give.

"You didn't."

"No of course not. But I wasn't known for my long term relationships either. I think she meant she was going to go for the get-your-kicks then leave approach."

"Ah yeah; I did that. I was going to say she should have started dating women."

Catherine's casual statement temporarily threw Sara. The panic she has successfully fought off a moment ago returned with full force. Catherine must have caught the look on her face because she said, "I'm kidding Sara."

But Sara wasn't. When her friend had phoned that night, it was exactly what she had said. She was going to pull a 'Sidle' and switch teams. When Sara was 21, she had shocked her friends by bringing a girl named Anne to a party and introducing her as her 'girlfriend'. Sara had known she was bi since she was fourteen, but had long advocated that she was straight. She had never meant to start dating girls, but she couldn't ignore Anne's advances.

"Where did you go?"

Sara blinked as it took a few seconds for her brain to register that Catherine was talking to her.

"Sara? I lost you for a minute. Where'd you go?"

"I was thinking."

"I could see that. I didn't offend you did I?"

"No." replied Sara quickly.

"Okay." Catherine looked a little lost. The mood in the room had shifted dramatically from light-hearted to sombre in a matter of moments.

"You never finished your story. I can guess you got mad at Eddie." Sara was eager to change the subject.

Catherine sighed. "Yeah I got mad. I started yelling, and Lindsey came in to see what I was yelling about. She caught on that I was yelling at her dad and she started crying, and Eddie was yelling back at me and I was so upset I slammed the phone against the holder. Then I spent the next hour trying to comfort my daughter, and myself. Now Lindsey's mad at me. She didn't say a word in the car on the way home from my sister's this morning. I dropped her off early at school and then I sat in my car for about twenty minutes. I was so distracted all shift, even Grissom called me out on it."

"Oh." It was all Sara could think of to say. Looking at Catherine she could tell there was something else bothering the blonde. She watched as Catherine struggled to get her thoughts in order and waited patiently for her to speak again.

"As soon as I got out of the school parking lot, I texted you. I had to say something to someone, but I didn't know who to talk to. I ran into Warrick as I was about to leave and he coaxed that I had a fight with Eddie out of me, but it wasn't so much the fighting itself that got to me. I guess he either didn't want to know the rest or he figured out that I wasn't going to tell him. When he suggested I call you I thought he was crazy. I mean I thought 'oh no anyone but Sara', no offense. But Warrick's always been oddly insightful when it comes to me. So I took his advice."

"What else is bothering you?"

"While Eddie and I were engaged in our shouting match he threatened to call social services and tell them I was neglecting my daughter if I didn't agree to let him see her more often."

"Is he the type to follow through on his threats?"

"I wouldn't be this worried if I didn't think he would make good on it."

"Well, even if he does file a complaint there's no guarantee they'll follow up."

"I thought that was their job to follow up on complaints."

"Yes, it is. But they get thousands of complaints a year. They don't have the time to follow up on every single one of them. Usually they'll only conduct an interview if more than one complaint against the same person gets logged."

"Yeah I guess so. But Ed has this way of making people believe whatever comes out of his mouth. The last thing I need is some social services agent sniffing around."

"If you're this worried why don't you let Eddie watch Lindsey more often?"

'Because that isn't really what it's about. He's not a terrible father but he's not cut out to be a dad. He wants to have Lindsey more so he can have more power over me, and I'm not willing to give him that. I also don't want my daughter involved in the show-bizz world at eight years old."

"Fair enough."

"Sara what if he files successfully? What if they take her away?"

"Child social workers aren't body snatchers out to steal people's children Catherine. There's a lot they need to look at before they'll even interview you. "

"Yeah like my job. Where do you work? Oh I work nights for the LVPD playing with dead bodies. Is that so? Oh yes, did I mention I used to be a stripper?" Catherine mocked a conversation with the service agent.

"Cath, what they're going to see is a woman who got herself out of that world and found herself a respectable job. They're going to see that you have steady employment, which Eddie does not, and while your hours aren't the best at least you have loving family members to look after your kid while you're gone."

"Yeah, but I'm serious when I say Eddie can be very persuasive."

"Even so, do you think they've never had to deal with disgruntled ex-spouses before? They deal with bitter people all the time. It wouldn't be the first case where someone filed a complaint as revenge against their ex. How did your divorce turn out, if I may ask?"

"Well, let's just say I won."

"Ok, well they'll look at that too."

"If they do interview me, I'm going to screw up, I know it."

"No one likes being investigated Catherine, but it's ok to be nervous. It's their job to ask the gritty questions that pry into every corner of your personal life, but as long as you're honest I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"I wish they didn't have to ask those questions."

"Yes you do. Think about it from the outside for a minute. How many cases have you had involving kids? How many times have you wanted to call social services yourself on parents you were sure were harming their children? How many times have you wished social services had been more thorough when conducting their investigations?"

"I know, but they're just so cold."

"They have to be. For most of them that's a defence mechanism. Working with abused kids is one of the hardest jobs out there. Think of all the horrible things we see as CSIs. They get to be a part of some wonderful successes, but also part of the worst failures. We only deal with the aftermath of a crime."

"I suppose. I mean you're right; I have had cases where I thought the parents were one way only to find out the complete opposite. I remember being so shocked and angry. I guess you're right that they have to be so thorough."

"They aren't without compassion Catherine. They're amazingly intuitive people. The better social workers don't even have to conduct the entire interview; they know a bad parent when they see one and believe me Cath I may not know you very well but I do know you're anything but."

"Really?"

Sara cracked a half smile. "Catherine, unless you've got a meth lab in your basement you'll be fine."

That last statement made Catherine laugh. Sara's smile widened until she was sporting a broad grin. When Catherine regained her composure, she turned to Sara and placed a hand on her knee.

"Thank you" she said honestly. Stretching, she continued, "I think I've imposed on you enough for one day, I should probably let you get some sleep."

"It's not a problem."

"Well even if you never sleep, I do and I'm tired. But thank you for listening to me rant, I needed to do that.

Sara shrugged. Catherine stood and took her empty mug back to the kitchen as Sara followed. Catherine collected her things from the front entrance and turned to leave. As she was halfway out the door, she paused. Turning around again she said, "Warrick was right. You were the right person to talk to. Thanks."

"Any time." As Sara shut the door, she thought back over her words. '_Any time?'_ Why was it that Catherine made her say things she would normally never say? The whole morning had been more than a little weird. As she made her way to her bedroom, she sat on the edge of her bed thinking. When she finally lay down she realized it was the first time she could see the potential for her and Catherine to have a real friendship. She also found that the thought made her happy. It might be nice to be friends with someone like Catherine Willows.

Catherine sat in her car outside Sara's building. For the second time that morning she found herself unable to drive away. She thought back over her morning. She had learned more about Sara in an hour and a half than she had in a year. Sara had also managed to completely abate her fears about being investigated by social services, at least temporarily. It was this which piqued Catherine's interest the most. Sara seemed to know an awful lot about the way social services worked, but why? Sara had come from a fairly normal family background, or so she thought. Then her own words came back to her '_thinking the parents were one way and finding out they're the complete opposite.'_ Maybe there was more to Sara's family history. Thinking about Sara's family made her realize still how little she knew about the woman. Sara had also made her laugh. Talking, laughing and ranting were things you did with your friends and Catherine had done all three with Sara in one day. And then there was Sara's parting '_any time_'.

"You're a CSI, what does the evidence tell you?" She asked herself, but she already knew the answer. More and more she was coming to see Sara as a friend. Letting out a satisfied sigh, she put the keys in the ignition and headed home.

_**TBC**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok, so here's chapter five. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.**

For the first time in several months Catherine had gone out on a real date. Her date was nice enough; he had taken her to a nice restaurant with a wonderful view of the Vegas lights and had been a real gentleman at the end of the evening. It had been the first time in a long time that she felt as though someone really was interested in her as a person and not just as a body to use for personal gratification. Everything had been going really well when her pager had begun to beep.

They were still at the restaurant, just starting desert, when the first page came in. Catherine had ignored it, hoping the lab would solve whatever problem they were having and leave her and her night off in peace. Then, as the bill arrived and her date Alan was busy signing the credit receipt, the pager had beeped again. This time it didn't stop beeping until Catherine had reached down and shut it off. As soon as she had tossed it back into her purse her cell had started ringing. The caller ID read LVPD CRIME LAB. If the lab was phoning her personal cell phone, then it was probably important. She answered the phone to a rather impatient Grissom.

"Catherine? Where are you, I paged you in half an hour ago."

"Nice to hear from you too Gil. It's my night off and I'm at a restaurant on a date, so whatever it is had better be very important."

"It's always important Catherine; crime doesn't stop for your night off."

"Obviously not." She muttered quietly, hoping Gil wouldn't hear her. Unfortunately he seemed to be having a good hearing day as he asked:

" Sorry, could you repeat that comment?"

Deciding that snarking at her supervisor was probably not the smartest thing to do she sighed and said instead "I'm almost finished dinner. Can you give me twenty minutes?"

Gil conceded to her request and she hung up to find Alan looking at her. Smiling apologetically she said "I'm sorry Alan that was work. Apparently several new cases came in and they don't have enough staff. I'm going to have to cut our night short."

Alan shrugged. "That's ok. I understand. Sometimes you can't avoid the office, even on your night off" he joked.

Catherine chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. This is Vegas after all."

"Come on; let me walk you to your car."

With that they had left the restaurant. At Catherine's car, Alan had reached out and gently grabbed her hands. "Thank you for a lovely evening. Let's hope it's a little longer next time, yeah?"

"Yes. Thank you for dinner, you picked a good spot. Nice view."

He let go and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

She had told Gil she would only be 20 minutes, so she didn't have time to change. She always had a change of clothes in her locker anyways, so she would change as soon as she got there. As she drove she hoped her shirt wouldn't be too wrinkled.

Thankfully, only one or two people had seen her come in in her dress and heels. She checked in with Grissom before heading to the locker room to change. Catherine had made a point of showing off her outfit to her supervisor hoping that actually seeing her in her dinner get-up would reinforce his understanding of her annoyance at being called in on her night off. He had looked up at the sound of her shoes clicking sharply against the tile floor, nodded and then gone back to sorting through his pile of paper.

"Catherine, thanks for coming in. I have the assignment somewhere here, but I was sorting paper work earlier and now I seem to have misplaced it."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "By sorting I assume you mean avoiding actually reading any of it."

"I read the report you left."

"I left that report three days ago, Gil. I swear you need to learn to be better organized."

Grissom ignored her. Finding the elusive assignment slip nestled between two folders, he let out a quiet "aha" and then reached across the desk to hand it to Catherine. She took it and stalked off.

She finally got to the locker room and flung her locker open. Grabbing her clothes she changed as quickly as possible. As she was rearranging her hair she saw another body behind her in the small mirror.

Turning, she found Sara standing at her own locker.

"Hey."

Sara turned around, "Hey Catherine. Wait, isn't it your night off?"

"Oh yeah. I had to leave my date at the restaurant. Trust Gil to poke holes in my plans."

"You had a date?"

"Yeah. It was going well too."

"Sorry it got broken up. Are you going to see him again?"

"I think so. He was polite enough."

"Just polite?"

"No, as in he looked at me like a woman and not just a walking pair of breasts."

"Oh." Sara said raising both eyebrows and pursing her lips. "Yeah that's always nice."

"I was not impressed when Gil phoned."

"Did he say anything when you got here?"

"Well he actually thanked me for coming in, which in his case is pretty big."

"It's more than I usually get."

Catherine nodded in agreement. "What are you working on?"

"Well I was helping Nick sort through trash, but then a new case came in and so now, I am headed out into the desert with Warrick."

"Ah. Well, enjoy the rest of your shift."

Grabbing her jacket, Sara shut her locker. "I'll try" she said as she headed for the door. Catherine glanced down at the slip in her hand. It was going to be a long night.

Several hours later when Catherine returned to the lab and had all her evidence logged and put away she headed for the break room and a cup of coffee. She had stopped by the layout room to find Nick still engrossed in his trash sorting. With Sara away on her case, Nick had been left on his own and was making relatively little progress. Seeing as he was probably going to have to pull a double, Catherine had offered to help. Nick had just waved her off, and so she had made her way to the break room with every intention of returning to help him anyways once she'd satisfied her caffeine craving.

Catherine flopped down on one of the couches. She spread her arms out and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Less than a minute later she heard footsteps and felt two hands covering her eyes.

"Guess who" said a voice from behind her.

Ducking out from under the hands she turned to find Greg standing there. "Greg." She said.

"The one and only. Have you seen Sara?"

"She's in the desert, why?"

"No reason."

One look at his face gave him away. Poor Greg had had a crush on Sara from the day she had arrived in Vegas. And try as he might, she just wasn't interested. Even after Catherine had let him know Sara was never going to go out with him, he still held fast to a foolish hope that she might change her mind.

"Greg, you've got to let her go."

Greg sighed. "I know, but she won't tell me why she won't go out with me. Until she gives me a real reason I'm gonna have this nagging sliver of hope." He went over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee before unceremoniously flopping on the couch next to Catherine.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Greg tasted his coffee. They were back to the lab sludge again. Grimacing, Greg downed the whole mug in several large gulps. Making a face he said "Ugh that was disgusting." Getting up he went back to the counter and stuck his head under the sink faucet. "Well" he said, water still dribbling down his chin, "I have to get back to work." Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he strode from the room.

Catherine was exhausted. Her case had had her sifting through heavy piles of wet soil for hours. As the sun rose, the heat had risen too. Even in the early morning, it was hot. She made it back to the lab with just over an hour in her shift to go. As she sat on the couch she allowed her eyes to drift shut. '_Five minutes.'_ She thought '_Just five minutes and then I'll go back to the layout room.'_

_**TBC**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Chapter six...here's where it begins to get a little angstier...**

She was rudely awoken from a rather pleasant dream by a hand gently shaking her shoulder and a voice calling her name.

"Wha?" She opened her eyes to find Sara kneeling in front of her. Satisfied that Catherine was awake, Sara stood and gave the blonde a moment to compose herself.

"Sara?"

"Welcome back sleeping beauty." Sara's smirk grew as Catherine caught sight of the clock.

"Oh shit! Crap, Sara! I've been sleeping for over an hour?" she let go another string of expletives and Sara had trouble containing her laughter at seeing Catherine so flustered.

"I was going to leave you, but you were drooling so I thought I would spare you the embarrassment of being discovered by Greg."

Catherine's eyes widened considerably in shock and she clapped a hand over her mouth while checking the front of her shirt with the other. Her eyes went from saucers to slits as she narrowed them dangerously at Sara who was trying unsuccessfully to suppress a giggle. Finding no sign of drool on herself, she glared at Sara who only laughed harder.

"Very funny Sidle. Next time you fall asleep on the clock I'll make sure Greg finds you and that he has a camera!"

Sara stopped laughing. "No, no please don't. What were you doing all shift that wiped you out?"

"Lifting piles of wet dirt and sifting through them for bone fragments in one hundred degree heat plus humidity."

"Ouch. Yeah it's going to be a hot one today. I was lucky to get out of the desert just after sunrise so my scene wasn't as bad, though I don't think we've reached one hundred degrees yet."

"Whatever. Speaking of Greg, he's been pining after you again."

Sara's smile vanished and instead she just looked sad.

"Tell me he hasn't."

"He was in here earlier looking for you. He said he won't give up on you until you give him a real reason why you won't go out with him."

"I told him he wasn't my type and that I wasn't interested! What other reason do I have to give him?"

"I don't know Sara. Maybe you should tell him the truth?"

"How would you know if I had another reason?" she asked angrily.

"Sara calm down. I can tell there's another reason from how defensive you're getting. Whatever that reason is, Greg needs to hear it."

Sara's shoulders sagged as she looked down at the floor. "Yeah I guess I should."

Catherine was sufficiently curious by Sara's behaviour to ask, "Why can't you date Greg? I mean, aside from the obvious."

Sara sighed. "Would you date your brother?"

"No..."

"Exactly."

"Okay; why is that so hard to tell him?"

"Because, I really do consider him family. I have a closeness with Greg that I don't have with any of my guy friends, but it's really a sibling-like relationship. Greg is the closest I've ever had to a younger brother. My real brother is ten years older than I am, and we were never close. I don't know how to explain to Greg how weird it makes me feel to try and think of him in a romantic way."

"Sara, he'll understand if you just tell him that you consider him family."

"Yeah, he probably will. I was kind of hoping that he would figure it out on his own, but I should have guessed I would have to bring it up. Even though he can sometimes be a little thick, he can be surprisingly mature."

At Catherine's look of disbelief, she gave a half smile. "He can" she insisted.

"Whatever you say."

Nick wandered his way into the break room and stopped once he spotted Catherine.

"Hey Cath, you know when I said you didn't have to help me earlier I was kinda hoping you'd come back anyway." He looked slightly put out.

"I'm sorry Nick, I got distracted. Do you still need help?" She silently hoped Sara wouldn't give away her lie.

"Nah, I got Greg in there now. He came in sayin' something about being too fidgety to sit in front of his machines doing nothing, so I got him sorting metals from organics."

"Okay."

"If you ask me, I'd say his latest crush fell through" the Texan smiled as he spoke. Catherine smiled back while Sara looked at the floor. Her snapped up again when Nick said "How 'bout you Sara? How's your love life these days?"

He was teasing and she knew it, but she couldn't help getting annoyed. "Why is my love life any of your concern Nick?"

"Ooh" said Nick, "I'll take that as it sucks."

"Yes it does and I don't plan on changing it any time soon."

"Why not?" Catherine added.

"Uh because. I do not have time to work and date."

Catherine just looked at her. "Sara, come on. I have the same job and a daughter and I still find time to date."

"Maybe I don't want to date right now."

The tension between the two women was rising rapidly and Nick took the impending explosion as his cue to leave, feeling guilty that is was him that had in fact started it by teasing Sara. He quietly backed out of the room, but both Catherine and Sara were too engaged in an angry staring contest to notice his exit.

"Seriously Sara? Why wouldn't you want to date?"

"Back off Catherine. My love life is really none of your business."

"Sara you don't have a love life!"

"You're right, I don't. But at least I have enough self respect not let myself be used by men for a cheap thrill!"

They were both shouting now. Catherine was about really to strangle Sara and that last comment nearly made her lose control. She took several deadly steps towards the brunette but before she could retaliate, Greg came storming back into the room.

"Stop, both of you. Stop right now!" Neither Catherine nor Sara had ever heard Greg this visibly upset. They broke eye contact and turned to face the young man who was standing in the middle of the room with a murderous look in his eyes. Catherine could swear that if they had been in a sci-fi movie, Greg would have shot both of them dead with that glare.

"Both of you just shut up. The whole lab can hear you yelling at each other. I would really appreciate if you could stop acting like four year olds and if you can't you might as well take this to the roof. That way you can both scream at the top of your lungs and the rest of us can work in peace." With one last look of disappointment directed at Sara he spun on his heel and marched out. Both women watched his angry strides as he disappeared down the hall.

In the wake of all the yelling, the silence left a ringing in the air around the two women. Catherine took a tentative step towards Sara, but the brunette sprang back. Her posture had softened, but her eyes were still blazing with a look that plainly said 'don't you dare'.

"I'm sorry Sara."

"For someone who told me not to get used to her apologizing it sure seems to be happening a lot." Sara countered her voice devoid of all emotion.

Catherine could feel herself getting angry again. "You know what Sara; I'm really getting tired of your attitude. What the hell is wrong with you? I said I was sorry, and I meant it."

Sara's face had gone blank. "I'm not sorry." She said stepping past Catherine. In the doorway she turned and said "I am however going to go apologize to Greg." And then she was gone.

Catherine stayed rooted to the spot, her emotions swirling rapidly and making her stomach churn. Finally she let out a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. Shaking her head she headed for the door. All she wanted was to go home, curl up in bed and not move until her next shift. Her night which had started out so well had rapidly deteriorated into disaster.

She was still battling her feelings about her fight with Sara. It both amazed and angered her how quickly the two of them could go from friendly banter to a full blown fight in a matter of minutes. They argued a lot, but rarely openly fought. Each time they did, however, it was emotionally damaging on both sides. What was most frustrating was the fact that Catherine could not for the life of her figure out what set Sara off.

Her saving grace was the thought that she could go home and spend some time with her daughter and forget all about her terrible shift. As she drove, she felt the anger loosen and slip away. Pulling into her driveway filled her with a completely different emotion. There was another car in the drive, an ugly old red piece of junk that could only belong to one man. A man she really didn't want to deal with.

Catherine stayed in her car for another moment. She was not ready to have another fight, especially not with her ex-husband. She rubbed her eyes hoping that maybe the car was an illusion. Unfortunately Eddie's car was right where it had been before she had closed her eyes. Remembering that her daughter was in the house with him, she stepped out of the car and strode purposefully towards her front door.

_**TBC**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Another update for you all. Enjoy. As always, please let me know what you think. Foul language alert.**

Catherine opened her front door to the smell of bacon and eggs. Entering her kitchen, she found Eddie at the stove with Lindsey seated at the table swinging her legs and waiting with a fork in her hand. Upon seeing her mom enter the room she let the fork fall with a clatter and ran over to Catherine. Giving her a hug she grabbed her hand and led her to where Eddie was cooking.

"Mommy, look! Daddy's making me breakfast."

Eddie smiled at Catherine and winked at his daughter. Catherine just shook her head.

"Ed, what are you doing here?"

"What's it look like? I'm making breakfast for my pumpkin." Lindsey giggled at the nickname.

"Eddie, this is my house. You aren't supposed to be in my house" she said quietly.

"Aw, come on Cath. Can't I make breakfast for my little girl? She called me, said she was here on her own so I came over. She's too young to be home alone" he said accusingly pointing the spatula at Catherine's chest.

Catherine took a deep breath, fighting to keep her calm. Confronting Eddie was never easy and his aloof manner irritated her to no end. Her patience was already paper thin; the result of her earlier fight with Sara, and it wore thinner with each passing second.

"Where's Nancy?" she asked, as her sister was supposed to be babysitting.

"Lindsey said she had to go to work. It's after eight already."

"Why didn't she call me?"

"I don't know Cath, did you check your phone?"

Glaring, she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. The display on the front let her know she had a new voicemail. Her heart sank as she heard her sister's voice on the other end, wondering why Catherine wasn't home yet, and letting her know that she had to leave for work. The end of the message was her sister telling her that she had suggested to Lindsey that she should phone her father.

"Damn" she swore quietly as she placed the phone back in her bag.

"Maybe if you paid more attention, you wouldn't have missed the call and you could have been here earlier, then I wouldn't have had to come over."

"I was driving, Eddie, I didn't hear the phone. And you certainly don't seem to mind being invited over by your daughter!"

"Course I don't mind looking after her. I mind that you aren't here for her."

"Eddie, do not start this again."

Her patience was hanging by a very fine thread now, and Eddie knew it. Lindsey piped up from her place at the table: "Mommy? Can I eat now?"

Catherine turned her attention to her daughter. "Of course you can sweetie. Here, let me get it for you."

She moved to serve Lindsey, but Eddie intervened. "No need Cath, I got it." He gave her one of his famous smiles and reached in front of her to pass the plate back to the child at the table. Catherine stood clenching her fists, inwardly seething. She could feel her nails digging painfully into her palms, but she didn't move.

Lindsey ate her food blissfully unaware of the silent war raging between her parents. As soon as she was finished, Catherine said "Lindsey baby, can you go upstairs and get your things for school?"

Lindsey looked up; finally catching the angry looks Catherine was shooting at Eddie. A hurt look crossed her face and she scowled at her mother before running from the room and thundering up the stairs. As soon as she heard the door slam, Catherine whirled on her ex-husband.

"Get out." She ordered.

"What? Why do you have such a problem with me spending time with my daughter?"

"This has nothing to do with Lindsey! This is my house, and I want you out!"

"I don't even get a thank you for breakfast?" He was successfully baiting her into a fight.

"Fuck off Eddie." She spat at him.

"Great Catherine. That's wonderful language to be using around your eight year old daughter."

For the second time in one morning Catherine was in the middle of a face-off, shouting for all the world to hear. Eddie took his time getting to the front door.

"Nice to see you again Cath, you know I think we could have made this work." He sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Catherine was about ready to deck him in the face. "Really? As I recall it was you who had to get your kicks elsewhere. You never gave a damn about me or your daughter!"

As Eddie swaggered down the drive he turned back towards the house. "It takes two to fuck up a marriage, Catherine" he yelled back at her before climbing into his car and slamming the door shut with such force Catherine was sure the whole neighbourhood heard it.

She was struggling to breathe. She was fighting tears and she trembled with rage. Turning back into the house she saw Lindsey standing on the stairs, backpack in one hand, and a look of pure shock on her face. Looking at her mom, Lindsey burst into tears. Catherine reached for her daughter but Lindsey roughly shook off her hands.

"Lindsey, please don't make this worse."

"This isn't my fault!" she sobbed.

"No, no sweetie it isn't, but baby if I want to hug you?" she was pleading with her daughter. But Lindsey was too angry to be consoled. Glaring at her mom through her tears she yelled "I hate you! You've ruined everything!" Lindsey then ran past Catherine and out the front door.

Catherine's vision blurred through her own tears. But she couldn't cry, not yet. She still had to get Lindsey to school. Pulling herself off the stairs she picked up her purse and her keys. She felt like her feet were made of lead. It took almost all her strength to drag herself out the front door. She found Lindsey sitting on the lawn, knees drawn to her chest, head resting on her hands. At the sound of the car being unlocked, Lindsey picked herself up and flung herself into the backseat.

The entire drive was made in complete silence, Lindsey glowering at Catherine the entire time. Every time Catherine had to check the rear-view mirror, she caught sight of her daughter's face. It served as her reminder of just how messed up things were, and it hurt. Pulling up in front of the school, Lindsey opened the door and exited without a word. Catherine called after her, but Lindsey just kept walking. Catherine watched as her daughter was swallowed up into the crowd of shrieking children in the school yard. Somehow, she managed to drive herself home.

As soon as she got home she flung herself into bed without getting undressed. This day could not possibly get any worse. It had been the most emotionally draining day Catherine had had in a long time. She pulled the covers tightly around her body, burrowing her face into her pillow. She finally fell asleep some time later, completely exhausted.

_**TBC**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: see earlier chapters.**

**A/N: Here's the next bit. Warning: grim case involving a child to come.**

Sara arrived at the lab an hour early. She had spent most of the day mulling over her fight with Catherine. She would never admit it to anyone, but she hated fighting with the strawberry blonde. Though their actual fights were rare enough, they always stung. And this last one stung a lot. Sara was ashamed of herself for having yelled what she did at Catherine. It had been completely unnecessary; but Sara wasn't brave enough to tell Catherine why she was so upset about being teased about her lack of love life.

Eventually she got fed up enough with her self-pity and got herself ready for work. On the way in she slipped her favourite mixed CD into the player of her car. She sang along as she drove and by the time she arrived at the lab, her mood was much improved.

She passed Greg in the hall. She gave him a cheerful "hey" but he didn't meet her eyes.

"Greg?" she called after him, her good mood sliding slightly as he ignored her and kept walking. When she had tried to apologize the night before; he had kicked her out of his lab. She had left without forcing the issue. It looked like she was going to have to wait a little longer to try again. What she really wanted to know was why Greg was so upset about her fighting with Catherine. Granted no one wanted to listen to them throwing insults at each other, but no one had ever really confronted them about it.

Looking back on it now, Sara could see he was right. They did behave like a pair of insolent children and they should have known better than to abandon their professional attitudes at work. In reality they were lucky someone like Ecklie hadn't heard them. He would have been off squealing to his superiors faster than they could have blinked. Catching sight of Catherine coming in through the doors, Sara ducked into the nearest lab. She may have felt bad about their confrontation but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

She watched as Catherine made her way down the hall. Something about her attitude was different. Normally Catherine radiated confidence. Today she looked weighed down. She was doing her damndest not to let it show, but Sara noticed the change right away. Catherine disappeared around the corner. Sara distracted herself with the various things in the lab for a while before heading to the locker room to drop off her stuff before she headed to the break room to receive her assignment for the night.

Entering the locker room she ran into Catherine. The blonde was sitting on a bench staring into space. Sara wasn't sure what to do and she stayed frozen in the doorway until she saw Catherine shift her weight and turn to look towards the door. She gave Sara a sad smile and then stood. Sara mirrored the smile and moved to open her own locker. Neither woman said a word. The only sounds came from the clanging of the locks against the metal doors. Sara sighed. Shutting her locker she turned to address Catherine.

"Cath-" she stopped. There was no one else in the room. Sara felt her mood slip another notch as she made her way to the break room.

She sat on the edge of the table while she waited. No one else was there yet. Glancing at the clock she realized there were still 25 minutes before the start of shift. People normally arrived only about fifteen minutes early. She busied herself making the coffee. The rest of the night shift began to trickle in a few minutes after the coffee was finished brewing.

They were all surprisingly quiet. Greg, Catherine and Sara had placed themselves around the room so they were each furthest from one another. Nick and Warrick just looked at each other. Nick shrugged and Warrick gave a short nod. They all knew about Greg's intervention. The silence hung heavy in the room. Greg was fidgeting with the fuzz stuck to the front of his shirt.

He was the first to move as he fixed himself a cup of coffee and then walked out. That seemed to break the spell over the room as everyone else was roused into action. Once they all had their coffee, Grissom arrived.

"Assignments: Nick, you're still working on your case from yesterday, Sara, if your desert scene is about wrapped, you can help him. Warrick and Catherine, body just off the strip. Brass will meet you there."

"What about you, boss?" inquired Nick.

"I get to stay here and file reports. I've been told I'm behind." He shot a pointed look at Catherine, but frowned when she failed to meet his eyes. Her eyes were glassy and he wasn't sure she had heard a word he had said.

Warrick placed a hand on Catherine's shoulder. "Meet you at the car?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Give me five minutes?"

"You okay?"

She forced herself to smile, "sure, fine" She said. Warrick looked concerned and completely unconvinced but he nodded and turned to leave. Grissom, who was also still in the room spoke up.

"Just a minute Warrick. Do you think you can handle this one solo? I need to speak with Catherine."

"Yeah, sure Gris. I'll let you know if I need back-up."

Grissom nodded and Warrick left. "Catherine?"

She looked up.

"May I see you in my office please?" He asked her, and she silently followed him out.

Sitting in Grissom's office made Catherine uncomfortable. She tried not to look at all the creatures in jars or terrariums. Grissom had disappeared somewhere between the break room and his office. She sat restlessly until he arrived, reading a sheet of paper, a deep frown gracing his features. He set the page down and then sat opposite Catherine. He didn't say anything; he just looked at her and waited for her to speak.

She gave a deep sigh and looked at her supervisor and friend. Feeling she owed him an explanation she began telling him about her colossal fight with Eddie.

Almost the whole way through, he held up his hand to stop her. "Catherine, this is the second time you're distracted at work because of him."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm worried your situation is going to interfere with your ability to do your job." he told her gently.

"I can do my job just fine!" she snapped. Unfortunately her comment only served to prove his point.

"I think maybe you should take a few days-"

Catherine interrupted him, this time her voice was more panicked than angry. "Please don't send me home Gil, I can't stand to be there right now."

"Catherine..."

"No. I'll stay at the lab, or I'll be secondary for a while, but I can't stand to be idle all day."

"Okay" he said, "You'll stay at the lab for a few days. But Catherine, if you don't work this out, then you can't be here."

"I know. Thank you."

He nodded and she stood to leave. She had only told him about the fight. She left out Eddie's previous threat about summoning social services. Stepping out of his office she stopped short. She was face to face with Sara. Sara's expression was grim. The brunette broke eye contact almost immediately but didn't move away. Catherine knew Sara had heard everything about the fight. She could read it in her face.

Sara raised her eyes to Catherine's again. Gil had told her to meet him in his office fifteen minutes ago. She hadn't meant to overhear the conversation between Gil and Catherine, but when Catherine had started talking she found she couldn't walk away.

"I'm sorry Cath." She said quietly, but Catherine shook her head.

"No you're not" she said hoarsely before walking away. Sara could only gape after her as her mood was decked another level.

She entered the office slowly. Grissom looked up as she did and reached for a sheet of paper on his desk.

"Sara. We received another case." He handed the page to her.

Taking it she read the case details. "419, residential area, nice neighbourhood. What have we got?"

Grissom's expression was grave. "Sara, you're not going to like this case."

What was left of her decent mood instantly evaporated. "Why am I not going to like it, Grissom?" she asked, her tone hard.

Grissom looked up at her, studying her expression for a moment before answering. "The victim's a five year old girl."

_**TBC**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This one's a little darker than the rest. You've been warned.**

Sara sat in her Denali, which was parked across the street from the crime scene. The whole street was lit up by all the flashing lights from the multiple police cruisers. It looked like it could have been some kind of morbid disco party, complete with crime tape decorations. Officers were scattered around the street, some in front of the house, others speaking to the numerous people standing in the road. Many of them Sara guessed were neighbours, wrapped in blankets or holding paper cups of coffee. There was even one woman in bare feet.

She sat behind the wheel for another minute. Cases like these were what made up most of her nightmares. She knew next to nothing about the case yet, but it was bothering her already. Any case involving children made her uncomfortable but it was usually the circumstances surrounding a child's death that would wake her up at night. When she saw Grissom approaching the officer in the drive way, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Grabbing her kit from the back she followed her supervisor up to the front door.

"Sara, are you ok to do this?" asked Grissom when he saw her.

"I'm fine Grissom, why?" she answered, annoyed that he was already asking her that question. It meant he knew more about the case than she did. Grissom eyed her curiously but nodded and said nothing. After speaking with the officer at the door the two CSI's proceeded to the backyard where the body was.

Both of them had to be very careful where they stepped, as the ground was still damp from rain and there were several sets of visible shoe impressions. As they rounded the corner to the yard, Sara spotted David kneeling beside the tiny body of a girl. Snapping on her gloves, she set her kit down and took a good look around the yard. Grissom spoke from behind her:

"I'm going to take a look around the yard, can you handle the body?"

She nodded and stepped towards David. Seeing the shadow from Sara's tall frame standing over him he looked up. "Hey, Sara."

"Hey David, what can you tell me?"

"Not much I'm afraid. It looks like your vic was beaten pretty badly, multiple blunt force traumas to her body. Time of death was approximately four hours ago. That's all I know so far." The expression on the assistant coroner's face was bleak.

Sara looked down at the girl. She set herself into work mode, the professional mask firmly in place. "Thanks David," she said, "may I?"

David nodded and backed away. As Sara began processing the body, David spoke up again. "Sara? I'm sorry." Sara shook her head slowly.

"David? Who found her?"

"Paramedics. Said they got about seven calls to this street. When they showed up, the gate was open and they found her lying in here, and no one else was around. I guess the sirens and flashing lights brought out the crowds."

Sara nodded. As she methodically took the photos and collected the scarce evidence from the child's body she made the mistake of looking at the girl's face. Hearing how young she was back at the lab had made her heart flutter but seeing her made her heart pound painfully hard against her chest. She looked so small and fragile; but the rest of her body told Sara that she had endured a terrible ordeal before finally succumbing to the clutches of death. Sara suddenly found it hard to breathe. She felt like she was being strangled and she couldn't tear her eyes from the little girl's face. It took all her effort to keep her work mask on and stand still instead of bolting from the scene. Grissom provided her with a chance to escape.

"Sara, do you mind if I take a look?"

Sara shook her head. "No, I've bagged what I found, which wasn't much. I'm going to go talk to the neighbours, see if any of them know more." With that she took the meagre evidence bags back to her kit and proceeded around to the front of the house.

As she was deciding which neighbour to talk to first, the woman in bare feet approached her.

Shivering slightly; she looked up at Sara. "Excuse me, officer?"

"I'm not a cop m'am, I'm a CSI."

The woman nodded. "Ok, well CSI..."

"Sidle, Sara."

"Sidle, Sara, I was wondering, I mean, is there anything we can do? What's going on?"

Sara noticed the woman's gaze drift over her shoulder. Turning, she saw David and another man carrying the body bag on a stretcher and loading it into the coroner's van.

"they're not...are they? They can't be, they just can't. Tell me they aren't dead!" Sara was worried the woman was about to get hysterical, and frankly she couldn't blame her. She held both hands out in front of her, encouraging the woman to take deep breaths and try to calm herself down. Once she deemed it safe to ask her questions again, she addressed her:

"M'am, do you know if there are any children that live there?"

"Karen, please call me Karen. There are two girls who live in that house" she said pointing to the house next door. "Larisa is five and Delia is nine. They're inseparable those two. Their parents are out of the country, they were supposed to be staying with their grandmother...A child? Oh God, that was a child. Please tell me it wasn't one of those girls..." her voice trailed off as she looked towards their house. She gave another shiver before turning back to Sara.

"Karen, can you tell me anything about what happened tonight? What you heard or saw?"

"I live across the street, so I couldn't see anything...around ten I heard shouting from outside. Normally I wouldn't have worried, but the voices...they were different."

"How were they different?"

"Angry, the one voice was angry. It was a man yelling. I couldn't hear any of the words, but then I heard this scream. I know a child screaming when I hear one; I have two of my own. I only heard the one scream. And then it got really quiet. I was terrified of what might have been going on, so that's when I called 911. I sat by the window with my two kids and my husband for what felt like hours, until I saw the cops show up."

"Who lives there?" asked Sara pointing to the taped-off house.

"That would be Mr. and Mrs. Lange. They own a summer home in Florida; they left about a week ago."

"Thanks. Did you say there were two girls who live in the house next door?"

"Yes, Delia and Larisa."

"Have you seen either girl tonight?"

"No, I haven't seen them since they came home with their grandmother yesterday. Why?"

"Just a minute." Sara turned to survey the crowd. The only child present was a small boy clinging to his father. "I'm sorry Karen, could you excuse me for a moment?"

Karen nodded.

"Officer!" Sara yelled, beckoning to the nearest police man. When he came over she said, "There's another girl. One of the neighbours said there's another girl, a sister who lives in the house next door. She's nine and her name is Delia. We have to find her."

As she was speaking with the officer, Grissom came around the corner. He only caught the tail end of Sara's statement.

"Sara? What is it?"

"We may have a missing child" responded the officer and Sara nodded. "I'll radio Brass, let him know. I'll get a couple of guys to check their house now."

Grissom nodded and the young cop jumped on his radio. About half a minute later three cops were headed for the front door of Delia and Larisa's home. The operation roused all the neighbours into panicked chaos. Several other cops took on the duty of crowd control while Sara went back to Karen.

"CSI Sidle? What's going on?"

"We need to search their house."

"Why? Why do you need to go into their home? Where's their grandmother? What's going on? Are the girls okay? It was one of them wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry Karen, we have reason to believe it might have been one of the girls...could you go with this officer please? She's going to bring you downtown and take your statement, ok?"

Karen nodded weakly and allowed herself to be escorted by the female officer standing nearby. Sara heard the 'all clear' from the front door of the house. Nodding to the officer at the door; she walked in and clicked on her flashlight. The house was dim and eerily quiet. The scene seemed undisturbed. Walking into the kitchen told another story. The kitchen was a mess. Several broken dishes lay on the counter and the floor, their shards glinting in the light of the beam from Sara's hand. Both stools were overturned, along with two of the chairs from the dining room table. On the table, a vase lay on its side, the flowers strewn across the table top, limp and dying. The water had soaked into two of the placemats, leaving a faint water mark on them. Magnets from the fridge were scattered on the floor. The back patio door was open. She heard Grissom enter the room behind her.

"I think we found our primary." Shining her light on the latch of the door she said, "No sign of forced entry, she must have known her attacker."

Grissom remained silent. They surveyed the kitchen, while the twin beams of light bounced off the walls in a robotic light-show. Grissom moved off into the living room. Through the patio glass, Sara could see the gate in the yard was open. She could also make out several distinct hand-prints on the glass, one of which was clearly a child's. As she was lifting the prints, she heard a faint sound from the pantry cupboard beside the fridge. The pantry itself looked like it went from floor to ceiling and probably contained several shelves.

Sara froze on the spot and listened hard. She was about to go back to printing when she heard it again. A faint, but clear rustle. It could have been a mouse. It also could have been a suspect, or the missing sister. As silently as possible, Sara pulled out her gun and moved slowly towards the pantry. The knob was located on the side closest to the patio, meaning she didn't have to cross in front in order to get it open. Holding both her gun and her light out in front of her she used her foot to open the door in one swift motion. Waving her light around the cupboard she could only see regular pantry items; until she felt something grab her leg.

_**TBC... Please review.**_


	10. Chapter 9 and a half

**A/N: This is more like chapter 9 and ½ but I added it as a separate chapter so that you would find it more easily. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far. It's what keeps the updates coming ;) Let's see if we can't hit 30 reviews after 10 chapters (that's only five more people...)  
**

Sara let out a yelp and sprang back about three feet waving her light and gun around wildly. Just as she was about to start screaming 'suspect on location' her flashlight caught the terrified face of a child. Alerted by the noise, Grissom and two officers came running back into the room. The child at Sara's feet crawled further into the pantry, cowering against the back wall. Sara held out her arms to keep the rest of the people back.

"It's okay! It's okay, it's just a kid." Holstering her gun; she knelt down she shone her light into the small space careful not to shine it directly into the child's eyes. The space between the bottom shelf and the floor was tiny and the girl barely fit between them. She stared, eyes wide as saucers, out at Sara. Aiming the light on the wall of the cupboard Sara noticed a dark red smear. She also noticed blood smears on the girl's clothes. Fearing she might be injured, Sara decided she had to get the girl out of the cupboard, but having had limited exposure to working with children put her at a loss for exactly how to do it.

"Hi there" she said quietly. "I'm Sara. We're here to help you." Not surprisingly, the girl didn't move. Sighing, Sara backed up a bit and tried again.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise." She said sincerely, looking directly into the girl's face. The girl looked nervously at Grissom and the police officers who were still standing behind Sara guns drawn. Sara followed her gaze. She frowned and shook her head, motioning for the officers to put the guns away. Once they did, she turned back to the small body in the cupboard. "They won't hurt you. They're with me; they're here to help too."

Sara was reminded of her college roommate's cat, which had once wedged itself behind the couch and didn't come out until her roommate had lured the cat out with a dish of milk and a lot of soft coaxing. This situation was surprisingly similar if not a thousand times more serious. Slowly she extended her hand towards the cupboard's entrance. After a moment's hesitation the girl reached out and took Sara's gloved hand in her own. Clumsily she unfolded herself from the confines of the pantry.

Sara took a moment to look her over. From the lack of blood in the kitchen she figured the smears on the child's clothing were her own. She had probably cut herself on some of the dish fragments. None of the injuries looked to be life-threatening. The girl looked fearfully around the kitchen. One of the officers made a move towards Sara and the girl startled, launching herself into Sara and burying her face into her vest.

Sara was shocked by the action. It took her a moment to register the trembling body firmly attached to her front. The girl had both arms around her and was gripping her vest tightly. Sara didn't know what to do. Gingerly she placed her own arms gently around the girl. "You're okay now" she whispered. The girl slowly let go, but kept hold of Sara's hand. Glancing at Grissom, Sara stood, still holding the girl's hand in her own. She followed the officers out through the front door and onto the porch.

There was still enough commotion out in the street that few people noticed the group emerge with the girl in tow. Standing at the top of the drive way Sara felt something pressing into her leg. Looking down she noticed the child had pressed herself tightly against her again.

Sara looked away unsure of what to do. She felt something tugging on her pant leg. Looking down the girl spoke for the first time.

"Where's my sister?" she whispered.

Sara shook her head. "I don't know." Taking a deep breath she asked "Hey, can you tell me your name?"

The girl looked up at her with big brown eyes. "Delia" she said. "Where's Larisa?" she asked a little more forcefully.

"Delia. I don't know where your sister is, I'm sorry." Inwardly Sara cringed. They had found one sister, but it was looking more and more like the body from the backyard next door belonged to the younger of the two. The case was ugly enough without factoring in the AWOL grandmother and a male suspect who was still at large. Sara tried to focus on the positive: A missing girl had been found and seemed relatively well.

Looking her over again changed Sara's mind. She noticed more blood had appeared on Delia's clothes. In the light from the street Sara could see how pale she was and for the first time she could see the small tears in the child's clothing. She knew now that they would need an EMT. Lucky for her there was still an ambulance waiting in the road. She got their attention just as Delia began to sway.

As soon as the ambulance disappeared, sirens blaring, around the corner at the end of the street Sara was left standing in the road, alone. Drawing in a breath she looked down at her clothes, which were now stained with Delia's blood. She looked up at the sky and then turned and headed back to her truck.

A short time later Sara was dressed in a CSI jumpsuit holding her clothes and vest in a large brown paper bag. Most of the crowd had been cleared away leaving her, Grissom and the few remaining police officers still in the street. Walking over to Grissom she said "I'm going to go back into the house and finish processing the kitchen." She said her tone neutral.

"Good. I'll go over the perimeter of both houses." He tilted his head slightly; catching Sara's far away expression. "Sara?"

Sara regarded her supervisor. "You were right." She said, turning her gaze to a point somewhere in the distance. "I don't like this case." Picking up her kit she strode back up the driveway and disappeared into the crime scene.

_**TBC**_


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ready for the next part? Catherine comes back really soon I promise.

* * *

**

Sara arrived back at the lab well after sunrise. She had processed and reprocessed every inch of the kitchen while Grissom had collected everything possible from the outside. Together they had walked through the crime scene half a dozen times trying to piece together the path the fight had taken. It now seemed as though whatever had started in the kitchen had terrified both girls. Delia had managed to hide, but Larisa hadn't been so lucky. The small girl had managed to flee the house by running out the patio door and through the neighbour's gate before falling in the yard. Other than a few blood samples and an approximate time line, evidence was scarce. They also needed to confirm the identity of the victim. Sara ran a hand through her hair as she walked down the hall of the police department. Turning a corner she ran into Brass.

"Hey Sara. Heard about your case, sorry I couldn't have been there to take statements. How's it going?"

Sara shook her head. "We've got one dead girl, another in the hospital, parents out of the country a missing grandmother and one unidentified male suspect. We also have next to no physical evidence from the scene."

Brass nodded. "That good huh? Well I've got one you might want to talk to. One of my guys brought her in for mouthing off to Officer Jacob, thought I'd let you take a swing at her."

Sara looked tired. "One of the neighbours?" she asked.

"Yeah, lives in the house next door."

"Okay, thanks. I've got someone I need to talk to first, but I'll come back in an hour or so?"

"Sure." said Brass, "we'll keep her on ice for you." He gave Sara a wink and Sara smiled slightly. Pointing a finger at her he said "There. That's what I was looking for." He turned and walked off towards his office.

Sara kept walking until she came to the reception area. Karen, the barefoot woman from the street, sat in one of the chairs. She was wearing a pair of slippers. She looked up when Sara came in.

"CSI Sidle! Thank goodness. I was getting worried I would have to sit here all day. I feel so awful, I can't stand to sit and do nothing."

"Call me Sara", the brunette said taking a seat in the chair opposite the woman. "Karen, how well do you know Larisa and Delia?"

"Well enough, I see them all the time. Delia goes to the same school as Mark, that's my son, and I see the two of them at the park with their mother a lot. Why?"

"We need someone to identify the body. We haven't found the grandmother and we can't seem to get a hold of the parents. I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this, but could you..."

"No, no I'll do it. You need to know and I need to know because, I just need to know." Karen was waving her hands around absentmindedly as she spoke. The action was making Sara dizzy. Standing, she reached out a hand towards Karen.

"Thank you. I'll take you to the lab." She was too busy mentally preparing herself for the task ahead to notice Catherine enter into PD.

They reached the morgue where Doc Robbins had only just finished preparing the body. He hated cases like these and did everything he could to make sure the body was handled with utmost respect. When the door opened, he looked up. He gave Sara a short nod, and acknowledged the woman beside her.

Sara spoke quietly to Karen. "Karen, this is Doctor Robbins; our chief medical examiner."

They exchanged greetings.

"Are you ready?" asked the Doc.

Karen nodded and took a slow breath. Doc Robbins pulled back the sheet covering the girl's face. Sara kept her eyes on Karen. Karen didn't move; she simply stared down at the body for what seemed like a short eternity. Doc Robbins cleared his throat. Karen drew in a shaky breath and nodded.

"Yes, yes that's Larisa. Oh the poor girl" she reached out gently touched Larisa's forehead, recoiling slightly at the coldness of her skin. Turning to Sara she said fiercely "You find whoever did this! You catch the son of a-" she stopped and closed her eyes. Looking down at Larisa's body again she whispered "I'm so sorry." Turning on her heel she fled the room. The Doc and Sara exchanged glances.

"Thanks Doc." Sara said quietly. She paused at the door and added, "take care of her."

Doc Robbins nodded slowly and looked down at the body. He regarded her peaceful face for a moment, his own mouth set in a thin line and brow furrowed slightly. Nodding again he replaced the sheet over her face and pushed the trolley holding the body back into the cold container.

Back at PD, Sara found Karen seated in a chair out in the hallway staring blankly at a wall. She sat next to her. After about a minute Karen spoke up.

"I keep asking myself what I could have done differently...When everything went quiet I should have sent my husband over there, or both of us should have gone. Done something, anything but we just sat by the phone and waited. And while we waited horrible things were happening to those little girls. I just keep thinking about what I should have done to make it stop." Karen spoke with no trace of emotion; her tone was dead even.

Sara couldn't bring herself to say the words she'd been trained to say. _It's not your fault..._ In reality, many people seemed to be at fault for what had happened.

Karen startled her by letting out a short hollow laugh. "I keep thinking that if I had prayed enough none of this would have happened." And then she burst into tears.

Sara closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them she stared at the floor. She could feel Karen's sobs reverberating throughout her own body. Feeling utterly helpless, she stood and went to retrieve a tissue box from a nearby desk. Handing it to Karen she had to blink a few times to fight off her own tears. There would be time for that later. Right now she had to try and provide some level of comfort to the crying woman in front of her. At that moment a man came striding down the hall towards the two women.

"Karen? Karen sweetie what is it?" He knelt down in front of her and spoke quietly for a few moments. Karen mumbled something Sara couldn't quite hear and then took a tissue and began dabbing at her eyes. The man stood and extended his hand to Sara.

"I'm Dave, I'm Karen's husband."

"Sara Sidle, from the crime lab."

They were left in an awkward silence. What else was there to say? Eventually Dave broke it.

"Is it okay if I take Karen home now?"

Sara nodded. "Sure. Thank you for your time, and your help. It means a lot."

"You just make sure whoever's responsible gets put away for life." said Dave placing a hand on his wife's back and leading her down the hall.

Once again Sara was left standing alone.

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_**TBC...**_


	12. Chapter 11

Sara found Brass in his office and the two made their way to the interrogation room. Outside the door Sara paused, sizing up her witness. The young woman wore a grey zip up sweater and jeans. Her long sandy coloured hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. She had her arms folded over her chest and was tapping her foot impatiently. Sara rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was interview a potential witness with an attitude problem. Brass stepped up behind her.

"Shall we?" he said, gesturing towards the room. Sara nodded and the two walked inside.

Immediately the woman leapt out of her chair. "About time! Do you have any idea how long I've been sitting in here?" she demanded angrily. Brass gave Sara a look.

"Sit down" he said, waving her back into her seat. The woman sat down with a huff.

"Could you at least tell me why I'm here?"

Instead of answering her question Brass proceeded with the introductions.

"Miss James, this is CSI Sidle from the crime lab. She's here to ask you a few questions about last night. Sidle, this is Caitlin James."

Again, the woman jumped out of her chair. "I'm being questioned? No way, I had NOTHING to do with whatever that racket was last night, uh uh. I am a very busy person, and I don't have time for this."

"Sit down!" commanded Brass. He leant over the table and added "and keep your mouth shut."

Caitlin James was looking at Brass as if she really wanted to say something along the lines of 'who the hell do you think you are' until she seemed to remember where she was.

"Look," she said, "I'm sorry I said those things to that officer. I'm going through some stuff right now and I guess I just lost my temper."

"Like you did just now?" asked Sara. The girl was clearly irritating.

"Look lady, I told you. I have no idea what happened last night. I have a lot of very important exams I have to write this week. I haven't slept in, like, four days, so yeah I lost my temper."

Brass turned to Sara. "I think we have room in one of the holding cells. We could leave her in there for a while, let her cool off." He turned to Caitlin. "How does that sound?"

Caitlin scoffed. "I think that sounds like I need a lawyer."

Sara stepped in. "Miss James, we would appreciate any information you might have that would help us solve this case. You're not a suspect." '_yet' _she added mentally.

"Funny that's not what it sounded like to me."

"Miss James, please. If you could just tell us what you heard, or saw, it could help us out a lot."

"Whatever. Just remember that I'm volunteering to give my statement."

Now Sara was getting mad. "The only reason," she said taking a step towards the woman, "that you're saying anything at all, is because we hauled your ass down here for insulting a police officer. You remember that."

"Do you want me to tell you what I know or what?"

Sara was silent. She gestured for Caitlin to continue.

"Fine. So, like around I don't know, late, I hear this big commotion from outside. It sounded like some guy was having a bitch fight with his girlfriend. He was yelling really loudly and she was screaming and it was really distracting. After a while they were still yelling so I blocked them out."

"Blocked them out how?"

Caitlin held up her portable CD player and headphones.

Sara was livid. She had to use all of her physical restraint to keep herself from leaping over the table and pummelling the arrogant little bitch to a pulp. Inhaling through her nose she addressed Caitlin who looked bored.

"Last night," she began, her voice dangerously calm, "a five year old girl was beaten to death in the backyard next door. It took that little girl over an hour, to die. And the whole time she was fighting for her life, you did nothing. Instead of phoning for help, you put on your headphones."

Caitlin looked insulted. "Look don't go all Kitty Genovese on me! Tons of other people called 9-1-1, it's not like one more was going to get the ambulance there any faster."

Sara felt Brass move in close behind her. He could sense how close Sara was to losing control.

"Her name was Larisa Greene." Sara said, her voice taking on a hoarse quality. Holding up both of her hands she turned to Brass. "She's all yours. I'm done."

From behind the glass Catherine stood rigid, one hand clamped over her mouth in shock. She had gone over to PD as a favour to Warrick since she was still technically working his case. She had seen Sara with a woman earlier, and later with the same woman as the woman sat in tears being comforted by her husband. She had needed to ask Brass about a lead on her case when she had seen Brass and Sara headed into the interview room. She figured she could catch the detective when he was done and stepped behind the one way mirror to listen in.

First of all Catherine could not believe the nerve of the young woman. If she had been conducting that interview she would have been over there slapping that girl silly. Secondly, she had never seen Sara that angry. She couldn't blame Sara really, the girl Caitlin was making her angry too, but there was a look in Sara's eye that had Catherine frightened. Sara had been beyond furious. There was a point when Catherine was sure Sara was going to lose it on the witness and yet she had walked away. It made her achingly curious as to what else Sara had been a part of over the last twelve hours. Catherine watched as Jim continued to question Caitlin, who finally looked like she was about to crack. Knowing she had eavesdropped enough, she headed back to the lab.

Sara stopped in the washroom once she was back at the lab. She had a death grip on the sink, her knuckles blanched to match the stark white of the ceramic beneath them. She tried to take deep steadying breaths.

Inside Sara a war was raging. She had handled tough cases before and though she had hated every single one of them, she had struggled through and solved them all. She had dealt with grisly murders and broken families, abuse, drugs, revenge, the whole works. But there was something about this case in particular that really struck a chord deep within her. Seeing Larisa's broken body lying in the muddy back yard, the way she had found Delia in the pantry and the way the frightened child had clung to her for dear life, the sheer lack of evidence fuelling her anxiety about her ability to do her job, and most importantly the incredible difference between the two witnesses, had put her through an emotional steam roller. For the first time since she had come to Vegas Sara was having a terrible time holding herself together. She had had moments in the last two years when she had allowed a few tears to fall for the victims of the most heinous crimes, but never before had she been left fighting the urge to vomit, to collapse in a heap and bawl, and to run full tilt until utter exhaustion meant she could run no more, all at the same time.

Sara left the washroom and began to wander the halls of the lab. Every sound was muffled, like she was hearing them from underwater. Only every now and then did something come through clearly. She had no idea how long she walked around for. At some point during her aimless wandering her brain quit trying to process information.

* * *

_**TBC**_


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Disclaimer in previous chapters**

Catherine entered the locker room about two hours after leaving PD. She had spoken to Brass on the phone briefly about her case and then had set about wandering around the lab. She pretended she was working but in reality she was looking for Sara. She wasn't sure what it was that made her want to find the brunette so badly and she knew Sara probably wouldn't appreciate Catherine cornering her about her case, but her curiosity had kept her walking. Sitting on the bench in front of her locker, Catherine began unlacing her boots. She was done for the night and ready to go home.

She had been completely unsuccessful in her hunt for the elusive Sara. Sitting on the bench in sock feet she let out a sigh. Sitting alone began to bring back the memories of all the problems she was trying to keep away. The last week had been emotionally difficult to say the least. She looked down at her toes. Wiggling them slightly she sighed again and reached for her shoes. Shutting her locker she gave the room one more look before heading into the hall. She passed the DNA lab, spying Greg, brows furrowed, pipetting something into falcon tubes. She was sadly reminded that Greg still wasn't speaking to her. Her mind returned to his parting comment about taking her conflicts with Sara to the roof. _The roof! _Snapping back to the present she did a 180 and strode for the nearest staircase. In the time she had spent looking for Sara she hadn't once thought to check the roof.

Opening the hatch, Catherine stepped over the short ledge and out onto the roof. She blinked as the light from the rising sun temporarily blinded her. Once her eyes adjusted to the new light level she looked around. Mentally kicking herself for not checking the roof sooner she saw Sara standing in plain view leaning against the railing at the edge of the building. Sara shifted slightly as Catherine came to lean against the railing next to her, but gave no other acknowledgement. Unsure of what to say, Catherine kept quiet. Sara was staring out across the city squinting into the sun. The wind had blown her long hair around, and the light reflected the faint freckles scattered across her face. Catherine glanced over at her. She had never noticed the freckles before. Looking down she noticed the lit cigarette in the brunette's left hand. Sara shifted again and followed Catherine's gaze. She lifted an eyebrow slightly and then looked back out over the railing.

Catherine reached down and snatched the cigarette from Sara's hand. She heard Sara cluck in annoyance and turned back to her in time to see Sara roll her eyes and wait for Catherine to stamp out the butt. Instead, Catherine brought it to her own lips and inhaled deeply. Letting out a perfect stream of smoke over the railing, she looked back at Sara and handed her the cigarette. Sara took it and paused, letting a ghost of a smile cross her features. Giving a court nod she took one last drag and tossed the butt over the edge. They stood in silence a while longer before Sara gave a slight shiver. Turning away from the edge she wordlessly headed for the door. She turned to face Catherine one more time, waiting for her by the door. Catherine followed and the two women headed back into the lab. Alone in the hall again, Catherine felt a little better. Somehow she and Sara had wordlessly begun to make amends. With that in mind she forgot all about Sara's case.

Sara left the locker room a short while later car keys in hand. After finally deciding that she was effectively useless at the lab in her current state she was ready to leave. She was planning on stopping by the hospital to check in on Delia on her way home. Turning a corner, she almost bumped into Nick.

"Hey, Sara. You heading out?"

"Yeah, I figure it's probably better if I at least go home and shower"

Nick nodded. Giving Sara a smile he said, "Hey I thought you kept all that stuff here? Don't you have a week's worth of clothes stored in a locker or something?"

Sara gave Nick a look. "Uh, no actually I only keep three days of clothing with me, my shampoo is empty and my towel needs washing so if I want to shower I kind of have to leave".

"Ah, yeah probably for the best. I think the smell is starting to attract the bugs" Nick said, pointing to a fly that so happened to be buzzing past.

"Very funny Nick" Sara said darkly, folding her arms over her chest.

"You know I've got a spare towel and Catherine probably has some shampoo you could use if you wanted." Sara grimaced. At the look on Sara's face he added, "Sorry; you probably prefer your own stuff, and you should probably just go home, I'm sure you could use the rest."

"Yeah..." Sara trailed off. Noticing that she was staring into space Nick said "Well I'm going to go finish up and then I'm headed out too. You have a good day."

It took Sara a second to register that Nick was talking to her. "Yeah you too Nicky" she called after him since he was already part way down the hall. She had been thinking about Catherine's shampoo. It wasn't that she didn't like it; in fact she thought Catherine always smelled rather nice, it was more that Sara didn't want to smell that way herself. She wasn't too keen on flowery; and she didn't think her and Catherine had quite reached that comfort level yet. If they ever got there. Shaking her head slightly, she moved off towards the exit.

_To be continued_


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Here's my second update this week! I know it's been forever and I'm sorry it's taken so long! Anyone who's still with me, thank you. Hopefully some of you will be revisiting this story, and even better maybe there are some new readers out there! No promises about regular updating, but I do want this story finished, so I will keep writing it. Thanks again, let me know what you think (please and thank you).**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Sara pulled into the lot at Desert Palms Hospital, put her car in park and turned off the engine. She took a breath, hand still on the keys before removing them from the ignition and opening the door. She strode purposefully towards the front door, careful not to slow down as it came closer. She found her way to the reception desk. Pulling out her badge and flashing it at the clerk she asked:

"Sara Sidle, from the crime lab. I'm looking for a Delia Greene?"

The clerk looked up, eyed the badge and then answered "Yes. Room 305. Third floor, on the right."

"Thanks", replied Sara and headed for the staircase at the end of the hall.

As she walked down the third floor hallway she was hyperaware of the sound of her footsteps on the polished floor. Room 305 was only a short ways down, and was easily identified by the officer posted at the door. The brunette recognized him as Officer Jacobs, a relatively new recruit to the force. He noticed her approach and nodded. In a low tone he said:

"Sidle. The parents are here."

Surprised, Sara raised an eyebrow. "They are?" She felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. With them here, it would fall upon her to break the news that their other daughter, Larisa, had died. It was the only part of her job that she truly hated. There was no good way to break that kind of news to a family.

"Yep."

"Thanks", she stepped past him into the small room. Mrs. Greene was seated next to the bed, holding onto her daughter's tiny hand. She was stroking it absentmindedly and seemingly staring into space. Mr. Greene sat next to his wife, a hand on her shoulder. Sara's gaze shifted to the small body lying in the bed. Suppressing a shiver she shifted and gently cleared her throat to alert the family of her presence.

Mr. Greene stood at the sound. Sara held out her hand.

"Mr. Greene? I'm Sara Sidle, I work for the Las Vegas Crime lab."

Inhaling through his nose, Mr. Greene shook her hand. "I'm Paul, this is my wife Alina. I presume you want to ask us some questions?"

At the mention of her name, Mrs. Greene was roused from her daze. She too stood and reached out for Sara's hand.

"Ms. Sidle. Yes, I'm Alina and this is..." she trailed off looking at the frail form of her daughter.

"Ms. Sidle? We would be happy to answer any questions you have for us, but do we have to do this now? This is all come as a shock, we only just got off a plane-"

Sara cut him off gently. "Sir"

"Paul"

"Paul. I'm not here to question you. I just came by to check in on your daughter."

Alina spoke up again. "You're the one who found her, aren't you? Delia's barely been able to open her eyes since we got here, but she keeps mumbling about a 'Sara'. Was it you?"

Sara met her eyes. "Yes. I found her in your pantry."

Paul chuckled softly. "She always hides in there; it's her favourite place when she doesn't want to be found."

"She's a very brave and smart little girl."

"Yes, yes she is."

Paul had his arm around Alina's shoulders, who had returned to staring at the child and stroking her face. Sara glanced around. The silence weighed heavily on everyone in the room. The decor was sparse and the only sounds came from the hallway and the machine monitoring Delia's vitals. Sara was sure they could all hear her heart banging painfully loudly against her chest. She swallowed hard as Alina spoke up again.

"Ms. Sidle, who did this to my baby?"

"We don't know yet, m'am. But I promise we'll find them. I won't stop until we do".

"Will she be alright?"

Sara offered a small smile. "She's a fighter. I'm sure she'll be just fine."

"What about Larisa? The doctors said she isn't here?" Alina looked at Sara imploringly.

Sara took a breath. She took a moment to think of the best possible way to tell them. Alina's eyes went wide in the silence. Frightened she began asking more questions, her voice rising rapidly with each one.

"Did they send her home already? Is she with her Grandma? Why haven't they called? Can we see her? Where did they take her? Where?" Alina Greene was working herself into a panic. Both parents' eyes were glued to Sara. The longer the brunette stayed silent, the more painful the silence got. And the longer it took to formulate her answer she could visibly see the Greene's posture begin to wilt as the horrific realization began to set in.

Sara spoke slowly. "Mr and Mrs Greene, I am so sorry."

Alina Greene was muttering "no, no, no, no" before uttering a low cry of pain and sinking into the chair next to Delia's bed. Paul reached out to Sara.

"My baby's gone to heaven?" He whispered, holding her hands.

Sara nodded, her mouth dry.

Paul gave a short nod and sank next to his wife. Sara closed her eyes briefly. Opening them she was engulfed by the image of the grieving family. Alina was sobbing and clutching desperately to Delia's forearm. Paul was gripping his wife's shoulders and looking at Delia, his tears silent. Sara turned to see Officer Jacobs in the doorway, cap in hand.

"I'm so sorry for your loss" Sara said quietly. After a moment she turned and left the room.

About 6 cups of tuck-shop tea later, Sara pulled herself out of the chair in the hospital's cafeteria. She didn't like the way the woman at the next table was looking at her. It was that look of pity and concern that instantly made her stomach turn. From her formal attire and name badge Sara figured she worked in the hospital. From the looks she was getting she guessed the psychotherapy section. Realizing she was staring right at the woman with her eyes squinted to try and read her name tag, she sat back and sighed. The woman had raised an eyebrow. She shifted in her chair and Sara panicked thinking the woman was going to get up and come over and introduce herself. Standing abruptly and scraping her chair loudly against the floor she fled the cafeteria.

Sara found herself leaning against her car out in the parking lot taking deep breaths. She physically shook herself to try and clear the fuzz that had settled once again inside her head. She was exhausted and really looking forward to a hot shower and a few hours of restless sleep before she headed back to the lab. Grissom's words floated back to her. '_You're not going to like this case'. _"You're right. I've said this to you before, but you're right. I really really don't like this case" she said aloud. It took all her resolve not to melt down in the parking lot. Instead she tuned all her focus to the task of arriving safely at her apartment.

By the time she reached her apartment her hands had gone numb from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. She slowly pried her fingers from the rim and flexed them. Rubbing her left hand with her right she held her keys in her mouth and closed the car door with her foot. As soon as she was in the front door she dropped everything and headed straight for the bathroom. Standing under the hot stream of water she took a deep breath in the steam. The steady rhythm of the shower was soothing and she closed her eyes, allowing her mind to go blank. Slowly, she felt the pent up tension start to ease and her muscles begin to relax. She didn't notice the tears until she stepped out of shower and caught a glimpse of herself in her dresser mirror. Turning away abruptly she threw back the duvet and crawled into bed.

_TBC..._


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: for anyone still reading this, I really am sorry the updates are so sporadic. I did say I was going to finish it though, and I will. Hopefully it won't take another year...**

**Disclaimer: still not mine**

Catherine pulled into her driveway just in time to see Lindsey bound out the front door behind her aunt Nancy on her way to school. Nancy waved and spoke to the girl, gesturing over to Catherine's car. The younger Willows' eyes lit up and she ran over to where Catherine was now standing next to the vehicle.

"Hey, baby! You all ready for school?" Catherine greeted her daughter.

"Yep. I ate all my cereal and drank all my milk but I had to do it really fast cause Auntie Nancy let me sleep in an extra ten minutes!"

"Woah, an extra ten?" Catherine looked over at Nancy and winked.

"Oh it was at least ten. Someone stayed up late last night reading." Said Nancy, ruffling the little blond's hair lightly.

"Did they" questioned Catherine looking at her daughter, and then to her sister "well she could have been out partying".

Lindsey giggled. "Mommy, I was reading about pirates! And then me and Jack and Ben and Little Sam went out hunting for treasure!" she explained, referring to her favourite stuffed animals.

"Is that why you've got my scarf on your head?" asked Catherine pointing to the red and black garment haphazardly tied like a headband around Lindsey's head.

"Yep. Nancy said I could."

"Uh huh" said Catherine looking at her sister.

"Lindsey, maybe you should ask your mom if you can borrow it" Nancy offered.

"Oh. Mom can I wear it? Pleeeeeease?"

Catherine laughed. "Sure, you can wear it, but please remember to bring it home!"

"I will! Thanks!" Lindsey gave her mom a quick hug and bounded away with Nancy towards the car.

"Cath, I put your mail on the counter in the kitchen. Call me later?"

"Thanks, sure! Thanks for taking her, Nance. Lindsey be good, sweetie."

"I will."

"I love you, baby!"

"Love you too mom".

Catherine watched as the doors were shut and Nancy's car stuttered to life. She watched until they had completely disappeared around the corner before turning to go inside. Nancy must be a miracle worker, she thought. Lindsey had been sulky since the last incident with Eddie, but today she certainly seemed happier. It felt much better to hear "I love you" as her daughter left than "I hate you" or worse, silence. She would definitely call her sister later. For now, she was looking forward to a shower and a decent sleep before picking Lindsey up after school. She picked up her mail and browsed through it on her way to the bedroom. Most of it was flyers and the phone bill but the last one caught her attention. The envelope was plain brown but the return address made Catherine's heart skip a beat.

"That bastard!" she swore quietly. The words on the envelope read: 'Clark County Department of Family Services; Child Protection Services'.

The persistent buzzing in Sara's head was making it hard for her to stay asleep. Convinced it was her brain refusing to settle down she tried in vain for the next few minutes to block out the offending sound. Groggy, she opened one eye and looked at her side table and blinked. The red light on her phone blinked back. Groaning she tried to sit up only to be restrained by the mass of tangled blankets in her bed. Fighting her way out of the mess she finally sat up and flipped open her phone. The message screen read '2 missed calls, 1 new voicemail'. Sighing she set the phone down and looked around her room. Her bed was a disaster. One pillow had fallen to the floor while the other was turned on an angle towards the middle of the bed. The duvet and sheet were wrapped tightly together in a ball of fabric. Sara absently pulled at one corner of the sheet and when nothing happened she stared at it, confused. Still holding onto the sheet she looked at her dresser. Her clothes from the night before were scattered over the chair in the corner, when normally the clean ones would be folded and the dirty ones in the laundry hamper. Looking down, she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes at all. She pulled a little harder on the sheet corner. Still, the tangled covers wouldn't come apart. Sighing she took hold of the duvet in her other hand and slowly separated the two blankets. It was a task that took several minutes to complete. When she was sure they were apart she wrapped herself in the sheet and resumed her scan of her bedroom. Nothing else was out of place. Her muscles ached and she felt like she hadn't had any sleep before. Had this been anyone else, the scene could have been the aftermath of a wild and drunken night. Being Sara Sidle, this was the aftermath of an emotionally exhausted CSI who had just woken from a very restless sleep.

More awake now that she had visually processed her bedroom she picked up her phone again. Running a hand through her hair she felt her fingers snare on the knots. Tugging her hand free and wincing she saw the missed calls were from Catherine. She dialled her voicemail and waited.

"You have one new message" she said out loud along with the automated voice on the phone. She pressed the 1 key and listened.

"_Uh, hi Sara it's me. Uh, it's Catherine. You're probably asleep, I'm sorry if I wake you. I know we haven't said much to each other since—well, I, never mind that's not why I called you. I got a letter this morning. He did it, Sara. He really filed against me. They want to set up an interview as soon as possible" _There was a sigh on the other end of the line. _"Anyway, I just thought I should tell you. Oh, and I know you won't say anything, but, for now please keep this between us? You're the only one I've told. Ok, well, I'm going to go. I have to pick up Lindsey in an hour. I'll see you tonight...bye"._ The message clicked off.

"_End of new messages" _said the phone.

Taking it away from her ear she pressed 9 to save the message. The phone continued talking at her until she flipped it shut. Sara debated calling back, but thought better of it. She made a mental note to talk with Catherine at some point in their shift. Rolling over she got out of bed, still wrapped up in her sheet. Letting it fall she headed into the bathroom.

Once she was showered and dressed she went out into the kitchen to make coffee. As it was brewing she leaned against the island in her kitchen thinking over Catherine's message. While it was certainly serious to be under investigation by the CPS, unless Catherine and the guys at the lab made an unfavourable impression on the agent, she'd be just fine. It was strange for Sara to see Catherine, a woman normally so confident, seem so uncertain. It puzzled and worried her. Pouring her coffee into a Go-mug she decided to go into work early. She nearly tripped over her bag sprawled across the entry way. Shaking her head at her complete lack of care she picked it up and headed out.

_**TBC**_


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: 2013 installment. No promises on updates, but I recently got some messages from people asking me to continue, so I have. Thanks for sticking with this. I am sincerely sorry it takes so long to keep this moving along. **

**Disclaimer: still not mine, I make nothing.**

Sara entered the locker room with her coffee in one hand and a bagel in the other. She put the bagel in her mouth to open the combination lock on her locker. Stuffing her bag inside, she closed the locker gently with her foot. She watched as the door swung open again. Kicking it shut a little harder, the force spilled hot coffee onto her hand. "OW!" she yelled, startled by the burning sensation in her left hand. Muttering curses at the coffee cup she used her free hand to wipe the spill off her skin.

"Hey, you need a hand?" said Nick's voice from the doorway.

Sara turned and took the bagel out of her mouth. "Napkin maybe, but thanks." She said with a small smile.

"You go home at all?" he asked her, tilting his head sideways.

"Yes, did you?"

"Yeah, I got a couple hours sleep, thought I'd come in early, try and finish up on Catherine's case."

Sara nodded. "Yeah I thought I'd come in early too, I certainly have enough to keep me going all shift".

Nick shrugged. "You mean all shifts".

Sara looked innocently puzzled.

"Going home for a few hours doesn't mean you're good to go for another 24, Sara", Nick said referring to Sara's habit of working 24 hours straight when she was involved in a heavy case.

"I've managed for the last few years, I'll be fine Nick. Just need a few of these" she paused holding up her coffee cup and giving it a little wiggle. Nearly spilling it again, she rolled her eyes and continued "couple breaks for fresh air and I'm fine" she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah, fresh air" Nick muttered quietly in a tone suggesting he knew of Sara's nicotine habit.

Ignoring him, Sara said "Anyway, better get started" and walked out the door.

Sitting in a layout room a few hours later, Sara tried to write up a list of the things she should do, in order to try and make progress on the Greene case. The photos of the meagre evidence were spread out around her notepad. She raked her fingers through her hair and sat up. There was a soft knock at the door. Turning, she saw Nick standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Nicky. What's up?"

"You ready for a break?" he asked.

"Yeah, my eyes could use something nice to look at" she raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Are you flirting with me?" Nick asked playfully.

"Are you kidding? But you are nice to look at" she answered back.

"I'll take it. Roof?"

"Sounds good".

Up on the roof, Nick and Sara stood together leaning over the metal railing surrounding the perimeter. The view of the city was fairly impressive, even though the building wasn't nearly as tall as the other skyscrapers lining the horizon. The sun had just dipped below the skyline and the sky was a brilliant orange. Sara could tell Nick had suggested coming up here because something as bothering him. The roof had become the optimal location for private conversations over the last year or so. This wasn't the first time Sara found herself on the roof with Nick, him squinting off the side of the building as if trying to spy into the office tower next to them. She waited. Finally, he took a breath and turned in her direction.

"Hey Sara, how come you never flirt with me for real?"

Sara almost laughed. Until now it hadn't occurred to her that Nick might actually be serious when he would make playful comments. Seeing his bewilderment she sobered her expression.

"What do you mean, why don't I ever flirt with you?"

"I mean, I like you Sara. If you flirted back sometimes, I might have asked you to dinner."

"Oh no." Sara's heart started hammering wildly. It was the one conversation she had always hated having with anyone, but with someone like Nick it would be so much worse.

"Oh no?"

"Nick, you might as well be my brother".

"I know. I'm sorry I'm not explaining myself very well. I don't mean I'm really into you, not in that way. But you're attractive and usually to get to know an attractive girl better I take her to dinner. With you, I feel like if we did that it would be weird."

Sara's heart calmed down considerably. She was relieved he wasn't trying to ask her on a date. "It would definitely be weird."

"I guess I'm asking how I get to know you better?"

She had to think for a moment. Normally people didn't ask to get to know her better. Normally she avoided having to get to know people.

Sensing her hesitation, Nick said "you know, no matter how hard you try to avoid us all the time we're not going anywhere." He sounded a little hurt.

"I'm sorry. I never really thought anyone wanted to get to know me, I mean not really. I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm pretty socially inept."

Nick cracked a smile. "Oh you do ok" he said.

Sara shrugged. "I try. Sometimes."

"So want to grab a beer sometime?"

Sara weighed her options. She liked Nick, and he seemed pretty determined to "get to know" her. If she was planning on staying in Vegas for any extended amount of time, maybe it was time to start trying to be friends with people.

"Sure." She said with a short nod.

"Great", said Nick a big grin spreading across his chiselled features. "Ok, well I gotta get back down there. You know you just holler if you need another break, alright?" He said with a thumb gesture towards the door leading back into the lab.

Sara gave another short, slow nod looking out over the horizon.

Realizing the conversation was over, Nick gave a nod of his own, his face serious. Turning he headed back toward the hatch. Sensing Sara behind him, he held the door and the two of them walked back down the steps together. Once at the bottom he gave her a short look then turned and headed back towards the room he had been working in. Sara wandered for another five minutes then found herself standing outside Greg's lab, staring at him. The lab tech stared back for a moment then gestured for her to come in. Tentatively she pushed the glass open.

"Hey" she said, stuffing her hands in her pants pockets.

"Hey yourself", he said, turning to pipette a clear liquid into a small tube. Placing the tube in alongside several others in the centrifuge he shut the lid and set the machine to spin. Discarding his gloves in the trash he stood and walked over to his printer.

"Results", he said picking up several sheets of paper and holding them to his chest. "You want them; you have to explain why you and Catherine fight all the time."

Pursing her lips and heaving a sigh, Sara stared at the floor. If anything she wanted to know what about her icy relationship with Catherine bothered _him_ so much. She didn't want to try and think through what it was that made _her_ so angry. She looked up trying to look pathetic. Greg looked unimpressed.

"I have to answer that right now?"She asked quietly.

"Three nights ago your lovely display caused enough gossip to fuel the rumour mill for weeks. So yes, answer me now or I'll give these directly to Grissom and you'll never find out about them".

He had a point. If he gave them to Grissom, he'd forget to fill her in and she'd be left trying to riddle the information out of him. On the other hand, if he was simply angry with her, he could have gone straight to him without giving her a chance to explain herself. Either he really wanted an answer or he had something he needed to say.

Sighing again she pondered her answer. There was no simple explanation. Some days Catherine made her blood boil and others they got along like old pals. She figured it must be a woman thing, although that made about as much sense to her as it would to poor Greg not to mention it was a terrible cop-out. Looking up and focusing on the flashing light of the centrifuge she began.

"There is no simple explanation Greg, and I can only tell you my point of view. It started when we met; she pretended to be someone else when I arrived. She saw me as an enemy for investigating Warrick. Over time everyone else seemed to get over that, except her. She was icy from the start and took every opportunity make little comments; show me where she thought my place was. And yes, I came in here with a great track record and I acted like a hotshot. I get that now. But it's was like she needs to hold power over me. So I stopped trying to play nice, and I let most of what she threw at me blow right over. But sometimes Greg, I swear she picks the fight on purpose and I can't help reacting. And sometimes everyone hears about it."

Greg was shaking his head slowly at her. Sara continued. "Look it's not like I don't feel bad, letting things get out of hand. I feel especially bad when someone else ends up involved, like you did the other day. I know there could be some serious consequences for us both. But truthfully she always hits me when I'm in the worst state of mind."

"You know you're lucky you haven't been suspended yet" said Greg finally, his tone hard. "Frankly I should have gone straight to Grissom or Ecklie for that matter and dealt with being the rat. We deal with people in the darkest parts of their lives every day. Isn't that enough? We're meant to be a team. Why do you think I listen to loud music all the time?" he paused, picking up his headphones from the desk and waving them at her. Without giving her a chance to say anything he answered his own question. "I do it because I come to work feeling like I'm walking on eggshells all the time. It's not fun trying to get through a sixteen hour shift as if there's a bomb hidden somewhere in the building, just waiting for the trip wire to go."

"Greg, I'm so sorry" she started but her cut her off.

"Don't. You have no idea how you affect other people. How other people feel because of you and the things you do or say. How you treat everyone else around here. How you both treat each other and what that does to this team. You're not the only one with a crappy personal life Sara. We all struggle, but that's why we're together. We need each other. No one else understands how our lives work. Call me a hopeless romantic, but this team is my family. And all this tension is making me sick. Whatever your personal issue is with Catherine, solve it." He thrust the sheets of paper into her hands and turned and stalked out of the room.

Sara stood dumbfounded staring at the empty space where Greg had been standing. It had been one of his rare moments of mature clarity that put her to shame. She knew it was incredibly selfish of her to behave the way she did towards the other woman, and especially at work. What Greg said was true. She was lucky they hadn't had to face any professional repercussions. But that wasn't his point. Until now, she had never once stopped to think about how her relationship with Catherine affected everyone else around her.

And then she saw it. The way everyone else subtly tried to reach out to the two women. How each of them, in some small way, indicated that they felt the rift between their friends. The way Nick gave her breaks from her work, offering her a chance she never took to talk about her problems or how Warrick always offered an ear or a shoulder for Catherine. When Grissom locked himself in his office pretending not to notice; it was his way of letting them know it upset him, but was unable to come up with the right words to say. And of course, there was the way Greg acted out, his outrageous flirting towards them sometimes a desperate attempt to improve the atmosphere. As someone who scoffed at others' lack of self-awareness she couldn't believe how blind she had become to her own behaviour. _Solve it,_ he had said. _Solve it. _Those two words echoed around in her brain for the rest of her shift.

**TBC...reviews? **


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Here's the next part...a short interlude before getting back to the cases at hand! Don't be shy to let me know what you think!**

Catherine sat down at her desk and placed her glasses on the edge of her nose. She sighed and picked up the first report. She'd been stuck in the lab the last two nights after telling Grissom about her fight with Eddie. Thankfully she had a pile of paperwork to keep her occupied. It would be a thousand times worse to be stuck at home staring into her empty house with all its ghosts following her every move. Even with Lindsey in a better mood she knew she was fragile and it terrified her that one small misstep would send her daughter back into sullenness.

She managed to work steadily on the report for the better part of an hour before her mind began to wander. The words on the page began to blur and her gaze shifted, blinking, trying to bring the world back into focus. Her eyes fell instead on the plain brown envelope lying on the corner of her desk half hidden under the other reports, taunting her. She didn't know why she brought it with her; somehow leaving it at home made her feel like it would sprout legs, trash her house and learn to make its own telephone calls. She couldn't stand it if Grissom found out about it. Not yet. She picked it up and turned it over and over, as if hoping the words on the front would magically change. When they didn't, she sighed again, and ran her hands through her hair. She sat rubbing her face for a moment when a soft knock on the door brought her head up. _Speak of the devil_ she thought. In the door stood Grissom.

"Catherine?" he asked softly, with the tone of someone approaching a feral cat.

"Come in Gil, I won't bite" she answered, sensing his reluctance to come in. He did and sat himself in her partial office, across from her. He folded his hands neatly in his lap and studied her. She let him, holding his gaze even.

"I've heard something interesting." He began slowly.

"Oh? And what was it?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I heard you had another little disagreement the other day. This time at the office."

"What?" She said sounding puzzled. She'd been thinking about all the things she'd love to say to Eddie, but didn't think she'd had any of those conversations out loud. Then she remembered her fight with Sara. "Oh. Right, that."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really"

"Good. Actually I'd rather you didn't talk to me. Would you like to know why?"

She hated when he did this, but could tell that beneath the calm demeanour he was upset with her so she humoured him.

"Why?"

"I heard about it through the grapevine. It went through seven different people from three departments before it got to me. That means the whole lab knows about it. That means my superiors know about it. Judy at the front desk knows about it. You've let your personal life interfere with your job again, and this time everyone knows about it."

"I'm sorry" she said, at a loss for what else to say. Normally Gil didn't pay attention to the gossip that flew around. She was also slightly amazed it had taken a full three days to reach his ears.

"The fact that everyone is talking about the two of you isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that I let you stay here knowing you're dealing with problems with Eddie, and yet you never mentioned you were having a problem with Sara."

"Well have you to talked to Sara? That was not my fault. I'm sure someone mentioned what she said to me? One second we're joking with Nick and the next she's blowing up in my face! I'm telling you Gil she's unstable!" She couldn't contain her outburst. He just looked at her evenly.

"I will deal with Sara, but I came to you first because I made special allowances for you when I should have sent you home. This has gone up high enough that I'm required to fill out a report." He gave her a stern look. If there was one thing he hated most, it was filing trivial reports. "This time I don't have a choice. I'm sending you home. Three days with pay. Take your reports with you; I expect them all finished when you get back."

When she looked like she was going to start protesting again he held up a hand. In a calm voice he said; "Listen to me because I will not repeat myself. If this doesn't settle then Ecklie is going to come in and break up this team and he will have every right to. Think about how your actions affect others Catherine, remember the ripple effect. You have three days to come up with a solution to the problem between you and Sara. Three days. Goodnight Catherine." With that he stood and left the office.

Catherine stared after him. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. It made her furious to know that Sara was going to get away without punishment, being Grissom's little protégé. On the other hand she was even more upset that she was now expected to go home for three days. And as angry as she was she knew he was right. If it didn't settle they'd all be in trouble. It surprised her a bit too that they weren't already in more trouble. _Think about how your actions affect others, Catherine _he had said. _Remember the ripple effect._ That left her feeling ashamed. She knew it was selfish to take out her anger on her colleague where everyone else was privy to their disagreement. She thought for a moment about what would happen to the others if the team were broken apart. Greg would be crushed; the older members of the team were his mentors, his family. Come to think of it, everyone in the night shift was pretty tight. Everyone relied on at least one other person to keep them sane when things got heavy. Feeling properly disgusted with herself, she slowly packed her things into her bag. She had more than enough to keep her working for three days.

On her way out the door, she passed the DNA lab where she could clearly see Greg giving an earful to a shocked Sara. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of smug satisfaction. Maybe Sara would get her comeuppance after all. If anyone would get through to her, it was Greg. She watched as he angrily thrust some papers into her hands and stormed out of the room. As he passed, he looked right into Catherine's eyes. Giving his head a quick shake he hurried past her. She had never seen him that angry before. On her way out the door, it seemed like everyone was in a bad mood. She even heard Nick and Warrick arguing on her way out. _Remember the ripple effect._ She wondered whether it was really possible that her fight with Sara had somehow affected everyone else around them. She shook her head; there was no way the general bad mood was related to her tiff with the brunette. Nevertheless she stopped at the front desk, scribbled a quick note and left it with Judy to be delivered the next night.

**TBC. **


	18. Chapter 17

Sara arrived at work already in a sour mood. She had barely slept or ate for the last 30 hours, was making absolutely no progress on her case despite Greg's results and she had been entirely unsuccessful in finding Catherine. Her resolve to find and talk with her was slowly crumbling the longer she went without even catching sight of the blonde. Everyone seemed to be on a short fuse around work lately too. Everyone was busy with tough cases, but everyone seemed angrier and sulkier than usual. She was no exception. The smallest traffic annoyances had been enough to set her cursing loudly in her car as she drove back to work. She knew she needed to calm down. She was supposed to head over to PD later to properly interview the parents of Larissa and Delia Greene. She hadn't had any news from the hospital so she assumed the condition of their one surviving daughter had remained unchanged. She didn't have much to tell them, but she hoped they might have just one little clue that would help the case advance.

Passing reception she was removed from her train of thought as Judy called out to her. Sauntering back towards the desk, she explained that Sara had mail and handed her two envelopes and a hastily folded sheet of paper. The two letters where entirely uninteresting, but the single sheet of paper caught her attention. It was standard issue, meaning someone had written to her from the lab. Unsure how to proceed she put her things away then took her notebook and the sheet to her favourite layout room. The note was from Catherine. It read:

_Sara. I've been asked to go home for three days to sort myself out, after Gil caught wind of our squabble. Though I understand that this is probably best for me, please know that I do hold you equally responsible for what happened. That said I really need to talk to you. Grissom said something to me tonight that's got me thinking. I'll see you in three days. _It was signed with the single letter 'C'.

"Well that explains why I can't find her" she said out loud to herself. It also made her nervous to think she now had three days before she'd have the chance to talk to Catherine. She opened her folder. Inside were Greg's results, and another sheet of paper he had carefully hidden among them. When she had first sat down to examine the blood results the last sheet of paper had fallen to the floor. It was titled "LVPD Workplace Conflict Resolution: Action Plan". Gritting her teeth, she reread the document. It was his way of letting her know he wanted her to make a formal effort. Greg had filled in the first few lines already.

_Workplace Conflict Resolution: Action Plan_

_Type of conflict: _INTER-PERSONAL

_Duration and nature of conflict: _ON-GOING, PERSONALITY CLASH

Sara chuckled slightly at that. Personality clash was an understatement. Completely incompatible and doomed to never get along was more realistic.

_With the help of a mediator, please fill in the following chart. You may choose to share your answers with the other parties involved._

_List 5 qualities you admire about your adversary(ies). These may or may not be qualities that are directly relevant to your conflict. For example: "I admire the way employee(s) X(and/or Y) handles meetings with his/her superiors". _Sara snorted. These forms were so lame. Immediately multiple things she didn't like about Catherine came to mind instead. She searched for the area where they got to write down all the things that irritated them about the other person. There wasn't one. Rolling her eyes she tried to think of things she liked about her co-worker. She thought of Lindsey. The way Catherine talked about her daughter showed how much she cared for and loved her child. She wrote down "_Ms. Willows is a formidable parent to her daughter." _Beyond that, she drew blank. She scanned the rest of the page. Under the chart the document read:

_Please list from most to least likely, 5 reasons that you believe are contributing to your conflict._ She had to think about that one. The day Catherine had come over and sat in her living room was the first time they had had civilized conversation outside of the office. Then later at work Catherine had been called in in the middle of a date and they'd hit the thorny topic of love lives. It had been Nick that started it all, but it had somehow escalated into their full-blown screaming match. Now that she thought about it, the reason she had been angry in the first place was jealousy. The emotion surprised her as much now as it did when she'd first felt it.

She was jealous of Catherine for being able to go out on a date. She had envied the way she looked in her evening get up. No matter how hard she tried, every time Sara put on a dress all she saw was awkward. She was even jealous of how good Catherine's perfume smelled. None of it made any sense. She'd been envious of people many times before but she'd always managed to shake it off and focus on bettering her own life, on her own terms. It had never affected her so much. And yet here they were now with Catherine on suspension and Sara filling out a conflict resolution form. No matter how many times she tried to pin it on something else, something more tangible, the whole situation boiled down to that devious green-eyed monster. Slowly, and with an unsteady hand, in the "_most likely" _slot she wrote: _Jealousy. _Written down the word looked even more out of place than it did in her head. She stared at it for another minute before looking at her watch. Realizing she needed to get down to PD, she carefully placed the form back in her folder.

Coming through the front door of the police department she ran into Brass immediately. He took her into one of the interview rooms where the Greenes were already seated. The air in the room was thick with uncertainty and grief. Sara immediately felt uncomfortable. Alina Greene was rubbing at a dark spot on her thumb. Sara realized they'd been printed.

Sitting opposite them she gently set her hands clasped on the interview table. The action caused Paul Greene to look up. His wife kept rubbing at her fingers. Noticing Sara looking at her, he held up his own hands. Dark ink spots covered the tips of all of his fingers too.

"Just in case", he said a slight edge to his voice.

Nodding slowly Sara opened the case file. "Mr. Greene, I'm sorry about the ink. It will wash off eventually. We need your prints to run them against any we found in your house. It helps us separate normal finger prints from those of any suspects. He gave a short nod. She continued, "Mr. And Mrs. Greene, is there anyone you know who might want to harm your family?"

"No, no one." Paul answered.

"We're still looking for Leila Greene. That's your mother, correct?"

"Yes, but she loved her granddaughters. If you're suggesting my mother had something to do with this-"

Sara raised her hand to stop him. "I'm not suggesting anything, Paul but we need to find her. We've tried her home address and phone and we can't get in contact with her. Do you know of anywhere she might have gone?"

Paul mulled the question over for a moment. "She has a friend, who lives in an apartment building closer to Henderson. She goes to visit her often."

Brass spoke up from his perch on the corner of the table. "We're going to need that address and phone number. Do you have a photo of her we could circulate, see if anyone in the neighbourhood knows where she might be?"

"Sure, here." He said digging out his wallet. He pulled a wrinkled photo out. He looked at it sadly for a moment then handed it over with a trembling hand. The photo was of the entire family, Mr. and Mrs. Greene, the two children and their grandmother. The old woman looked tired and frail. Brass showed it to Sara. They exchanged concerned looks.

"Thanks", said Brass. "Mr. Greene may I ask how old she is?"

"87."

"87. And you still let her watch your children while you're out of the country?" He was falling into full suspect-interview mode.

Paul Greene was visibly insulted. "Yes of course!" He said standing up. "We've never had reason to doubt her ability to take care of the children. And she loves doing it; she'd never let us hire anyone else!" He exclaimed. Seeing Brass and Sara tense up he sat down again and mumbled an apology. After a moment everyone relaxed again.

"Ok well that's it for now, we'll be in touch. Oh, and don't leave town." The Captain extended a hand. Paul shook it gingerly. Sara stood and extended her own hand. Paul shook it, but his wife was still transfixed by her fingers. Paul looked apologetic. "I'm sorry; please do not mind my wife. She is still in shock". Sara nodded and followed Brass out the door. Once in the corridor she turned to him.

"We need to find that grandmother."

Brass nodded. "I'll send out another APB. She's either a witness or another victim, you tell me which is more likely."

"I'm not going to pretend to be optimistic but our only other potential witness is a nine year old currently lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Until we find granny we've got nothing to go on."

"No prints, DNA?" the Captain asked.

"Nada. All blood results came back to the girl. And not a single print was usable. Lots of smudges, but not enough to get a hit."

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

"Nothing good. Someone had it out for that family. We need a suspect."

Brass nodded. "I'm on it." He hurried away down the hall, phone in hand.

Sara nodded grimly after him before heading back to the lab.

**TBC.**


	19. Chapter 18

Three days passed without any word from the police department or the lab. The case had effectively come to a standstill. Sara wandered listlessly around the lab. Her thoughts shifted between the case and Catherine. Just then, the blonde woman came around the corner nearly crashing into her.

"Sara!" she said startled.

"Welcome back" she said sincerely.

"Aw, did you miss me?" she asked mock-serious. Sara just shrugged. "Well I've got a few things to finish up then I'm ready to chat if you are."

"Sure" was the short reply.

"Ok well, meet me on the roof in an hour?"

"Yeah" Sara replied, feeling nervous butterflies take up residence in her stomach.

"Yeah" echoed Catherine stepping around her and walking away.

An hour later Sara found Catherine on the roof, holding a notebook. Sara looked down at the notebook in her own hand. After a long awkward silence Catherine spoke.

"Ok, I'll start. As you know, I was sent home for three days, where I finished all seven of the reports I was behind on and gave myself a repetitive strain injury." She lifted her right hand so Sara could see the bandage around her wrist. "Thank you, for that by the way." She said referring to the suspension. She knew she was being petty, but she was annoyed at being forced into this situation.

Sara bit her tongue and waited. She was wishing she'd brought a cigarette up with her. Her whole body was buzzing with nerves and she was sure Catherine could see right through her. After a pause, Catherine continued:

"So anyway, before I left Grissom came to see me. He reminded me that my actions have consequences and that if I didn't have a concrete solution for our little problem Ecklie would come in and break up the team. So for the sake of everyone else in the lab, I tried to come up with one." What she was really saying was _I didn't do this for you._ Sara understood the sentiment. She raised her eyebrows.

Catherine flipped a sheet of paper out her notebook and dangled it in front of Sara. She recognized it as the same conflict resolution form Greg had given her. "Courtesy of Grissom" she said.

Sara slowly pulled her own form out of her notebook. "Greg" she said holding it out towards the other woman. They stared at each other's papers for a moment before Catherine spoke up again.

"So are we going to exchange I-statements or what?"

Sara shrugged but remained silent.

"Well if you've got nothing to contribute then I don't either. Nice chat Sara." She turned and started walking back towards the door.

"Wait." Sara called her back. "If we don't talk then Greg's going to kill me."

Turning around, Catherine put her hands on her hips, the piece of paper crumpling in her fist. "So talk. Last chance Sidle."

Sara sighed forcing her anger down. Now was not the time to bite the hook Catherine so easily cast her. If they didn't talk now, they never would. "I'm skipping to the part where we discuss reasons for our problems."

"Fine. I don't really feel like sharing why I like you so much anyways" Catherine said, her tone entirely sarcastic.

"Great. I want to go first."

"Well so do I. So why don't I count to three and we'll both go first?" she said tilting her head sideways slightly.

"Fine."

"One" Catherine counted. "Two, three."

"Jealousy" they chorused together.

"No way" breathed Sara.

"Huh" tutted Catherine, as she gave a bitter laugh. "Well I wasn't expecting that."

Sara folded her arms over her chest. They stayed in silence for about a minute.

"Well Sara Sidle, tell me what it is exactly you're jealous of?" Catherine said a vicious edge creeping into her voice.

Sara's stomach flipped over. She hated it when anyone used her full name like that. She wanted to reconsider her answer. It also made her extremely uncomfortable to think that Catherine could be jealous of her, not to mention Catherine's eyes were gleaming like a wild animal about to make a kill. All of it was making her feel sick. She made to say something, but the words got strangled in the back of her throat and all that came out was a strange noise.

At Sara's lack of vocabulary Catherine suddenly had a vision of what they would look like to anyone watching them. Although she was shorter, Catherine looked huge compared to the lanky brunette trying not to shrink under her gaze. Remembering that talking wasn't Sara's forte she tried to back down slightly. After all, if they didn't talk now, they never would. After a few moments Sara's posture faintly softened. It was enough for her to find her voice again.

"I'm jealous of you going on a date." It wasn't the best opener, but it was what came out. "Somehow even with this job and a daughter you still find time to go out and have fun." She was speaking slowly, keeping her gaze firmly on the concrete under her shoes. Catherine stood motionless, so Sara continued: "Second I'm jealous of the way you hold everyone's attention. The whole lab is smitten with you and they're all happy to jump up and help you. I'm also jealous that you have Grissom's ear. Trust me; he puts you ahead of everyone else." She paused letting it sink in.

Catherine could feel her anger dissipating. She hadn't expected any of that. Sara's tone was deadly serious, but the words sounded ridiculous to her ears, funny even. Her brain was screaming at her that the taller CSI was actually opening up to her so she held it in.

Sara spoke again. "I'm also jealous that you have a family. You have people to go home to at the end of the shift, people who call you to make sure you're still alive and volunteer to look after your kid. And lastly", she took a breath, "I'm jealous that you look gorgeous in everything you wear." With that she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

This time it was all Catherine could do not to laugh. "You can't be serious."

"You'd look amazing in a garbage bag." came the mumbled reply.

"Well", said Catherine. "I actually think I might have a photo that would change your mind but I have to ask. You? Jealous of my looks?" She gave Sara a perplexed look.

"Well, yeah. I mean, contrary to your beliefs I do care about my appearance and sometimes I even try hard...and I still end up with this." She gestured to herself.

If it hadn't been for the extreme circumstances surrounding that case, Catherine would have forgotten all about that quip about Sara's lack of care in her appearance at a crime scene. It had occurred nearly a year before. Clearly Sara hadn't forgotten, but it still puzzled Catherine why she'd be upset at her looks.

"So you get angry with me because you think I look better than you do? Sara that's ridiculous."

"No, it isn't, not when everyone else gives you priority _because_ of how you look."

Catherine felt her anger returning. "Whatever idea you've got in your head that I get the attention because of the way I dress, forget about it right now. I get the attention because I've been here a long time. You have to earn your place here. I get priority because I'm good at what I do."

Sara tried to reshuffle her thoughts. "That's not what I meant. _I_ know you're good at what you do; in fact I used to be a little jealous of that too. However, what I'm saying is other people don't have to pay attention to your talent as an investigator when all they see is your outfit."

It was a compliment and an insult rolled into one. "Are you suggesting I flaunt my looks to get results?"

"Sometimes, yes." Seeing Catherine's eyes start to bug out Sara raised her hands in surrender. "That's not always a bad thing. It works, you get results and that's what matters. What I'm trying to say is I can't do that. It would never work for me, I don't get to take any shortcuts, and so it's frustrating to watch you skip steps because you've got half the lab and suspects drooling over you."

Now Catherine was confused as well as angry. "So what's your point here?"

Sara took a moment to try and organize all her thoughts into one coherent sentence. "My point is I get frustrated and upset when I see you using your looks to get results, because I'm working yet another double shift entirely by the book but I'm also angry at all those people who can't see how good you are at your job."

Catherine sort of understood. She could tell when someone put her stuff on priority only because of her allure, not because it was a high profile case and she was desperate to put some low-life scum behind bars. Apparently Sara could see it too. Catherine supposed if their positions were reversed she'd be pretty frustrated too.

"Sara, if it were the other way around would you use your looks to get results?"

"If it meant getting a perp in state faster, then yes. As long as it didn't contradict the evidence."

"You know I'd never do that."

"Yeah, I do. And that's what makes me jealous."

Catherine nodded. "So that's really why you don't like me huh?"

Sara gave a small smile. "You know, I never said I didn't like you, Catherine. I'm pretty sure it was you who made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me in the beginning."

Steeling herself, Catherine nodded again. "Well if it helps any I'm jealous of how good _you_ are at your job. When you first came in, I knew you were good I could feel it. I don't like the idea of someone younger with less experience being such a natural. You may do everything by the book but it's like you don't have to try, the pieces just magically fall together whereas I have to strain my brain every damn shift! If I was as smart as you I could get away with coming to work wearing a garbage bag!" Catherine had to stop herself. That last statement was a very revealing thing to say about her insecurities.

Sara didn't know how to respond, so she just stared.

Catherine shifted uncomfortably. Taking a big breath and letting it out all at once she said "I'm sorry for how I treated you. The idea that you're better than me makes me crazy but it doesn't mean it's a good idea to take that frustration out on you."

Sara considered Catherine's apology. She clearly had no idea how Sara managed to solve cases as quickly as she did. Not stopping to sleep, eat or generally take care of herself, except to shower wasn't exactly healthy. But it was effective. She opted to keep her mouth shut.

Catherine spoke up again. "I guess neither of us tried very hard to be friends, huh?"

"Not really, no."

"You sorry about what you said to me the other night?"

Sara chewed her lip. "Yes."

Catherine took a breath. Letting it out slowly this time she looked at her counterpart. "I'm willing to start over, if you are."

"Sure."

"Not good enough. You owe me more than that."

Sara regarded her statement for a second. This was her chance, whatever answer she gave would decide whether they started over and tried to get along, or whether they went inside to tell their supervisors one of them was switching shifts. Was it worth it? Sara doubted how long they would manage to go without fighting again. But even as she considered it something began to niggle at the back of her mind, some inkling that it was the right thing to do. Sighing, she looked right at Catherine.

"I'm willing to start over too. I am sorry about what I said the other night."

"Thank you. That comment aside did you really think I looked good?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Thanks. Somehow I feel that means a lot coming from you."

Sara just gave a half sideways smile. After a short silence it was Catherine who spoke first again.

"Ok well I should probably get back to work. I'm hoping Grissom lets me back out in the field after tonight."

There was another awkward pause then Catherine gave a short laugh. "I feel like we should shake hands or something."

Sara titled her head slightly, then extended her left hand.

'"Left?" Catherine inquired, puzzled.

"To protect your other wrist." Sara said matter-of-factly.

"Right. Thanks." She said extending her left hand, and silently cursing Sara's eye for detail, again. They tentatively shook. It wasn't much, but at least they could say they'd talked like adults. Grissom and Greg would certainly appreciate knowing that. As they re-entered the building and made to part ways, Catherine stopped and half turned around. "Oh, by the way, you're more attractive than you give yourself credit for Sara." She turned back and started off down the hall leaving a stunned brunette in her wake.

**TBC**


	20. Chapter 19

**Next Chapter is here! **

Back in the lab Catherine found she could no longer concentrate on her work. All her thoughts came back to her conversation with Sara. She still couldn't get over Sara's jealousy and what she had said. She couldn't figure out whether Sara had meant to compliment or insult her but she'd done both. If she was honest with herself, of course she used her natural appeal to get suspects to reveal information. It was part of her skill as an investigator, knowing which questions to ask and just how charming to be to get her answers.

Everyone did it in some way except apparently for Sara. Catherine wondered why it seemed to bother her so much. She had admitted to being jealous of Catherine's ability and essentially condoned her actions and yet seemed angered that some people seemed blinded by it. And then everything suddenly fell into place. She had been thinking Sara saw it as cheating, taking unfair shortcuts to solve cases. That would explain the jealousy and frustration, but not her anger. Sara saw her actions for what they were meant to be, a tool, just like print powder or an ALS. That meant that what Sara was trying to tell her was although everyone used their own charm as tools, not everyone recognized Catherine's as such. It frightened her to think she might not be as well respected as she thought she was. It made her question who among her colleagues saw which side of her. It was not a pleasant train of thought. Damn Sara for making her feel so insecure. Just then her pager started beeping. It was Grissom. Eager for a change of pace Catherine rubbed her temples and stood. Shaking her troubled thoughts from her mind she left her office in search of her supervisor.

Twenty minutes later, Catherine was piling into her SUV. Grissom had given her the all clear to go back in the field, but her case was less than adrenaline worthy. Assault with minor injuries out in the suburbs, suspect in custody and she was paired up with Warrick. She'd accepted the assignment without complaint, seeing as it was Grissom's way of letting her know she had to earn back his trust. He hadn't given her much detail and she wondered why a minor assault case would even need two CSIs. She pondered possible scenarios as she drove. Pulling up to the scene, she parked the car a few houses down from the nearest squad car. Only two police vehicles, a single ambulance and one detective talking to a young man holding his arm. She sighed and stepped out the car. Grabbing her kit from the back she walked over to the detective. She saw Warrick snapping pictures of something lying on the sidewalk. Acknowledging the detective with a wave of her sunglasses she stopped walking and set down her kit.

"Detective. Want to fill me in?"

The detective nodded and looked up from his notebook. "I'm Detective Hodgeson. Call came in about an hour ago, kid over here says he was assaulted by an older lady."

Catherine raised her eyebrows. This certainly seemed like a lacklustre case. "Well", she said, "I'm going to poke around a bit, let me know if he says anything interesting". She gestured to the young man who wrinkled his forehead at being referred to in third person. She moved over to where Warrick was finishing sealing evidence bags.

"Hey" she said.

"Hey Cath, nice to see you out again. Gris told me you'd be joining me, guess you're not out of purgatory just yet huh?"

"Guess not. Young guy assaulted by grandma? I don't think so."

"What are you thinking? Purse snatching?"

"Maybe. Maybe the kid just doesn't like old people?"

"Nah, doesn't seem the type. Apparently he's a model junior over at LVU."

Keeping her voice low she snuck a look over at the kid who was still rubbing his arm. "First time for everything" she said. Warrick just nodded. "Where's the old lady?" she asked looking around.

Warrick pointed to the ambulance. "Apparently after she hit the kid she fainted. They're getting ready to transport her just to be safe."

"Right." Said Catherine still disbelieving. "Anyone else see what happened?" She could guess the answer from the emptiness of the street.

"Not even a mouse" quoted Warrick.

Catherine chuckled slightly. Looking at the evidence bags she tilted her head trying to figure out what was in them. "Find anything interesting?"

"Bagged the old lady's purse and I found some prescription meds on the sidewalk. I asked the EMT to get the doc to run a tox panel at the hospital, maybe granny took too many pills."

"Yeah, my money's still on the kid. I'm going to go talk to him, see what his story is."

"Sounds good, I'm done here, meet you back at the lab?"

"Sure, see you later." She turned away from her darker companion and headed back over to the detective just in time to catch him ask the young man if he wanted to press charges.

"No, I mean I don't think she did any real damage" he said. "I called the cops mainly cause I was worried about her, she didn't seem right you know?"

Catherine nodded slightly inserting herself into their conversation. "Catherine Willows, Las Vegas Crime lab." She said, extending her hand to the young man.

"Rob Carson" he said reaching to shake Catherine's hand. She flinched slightly remembering it was her sore wrist, but immediately relaxed. Rob's handshake was positively limp. Either the kid was smart or Warrick's theory of a drugged up granny was becoming more plausible.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"Well like I told the detective, I was walking home when I came across this old woman wandering down the middle of the street. I know it's a quiet neighbourhood and all but I still figured I should try and get her on a sidewalk. So I jogged over to her and she seemed really upset. She asked me where she was and when I told her she got mad. I wanted to help so I reached out to her and she freaked. Started hitting me with her bag and trying to throw punches. I just kept backing up until I was on someone's lawn. She got closer so I grabbed her by the arms trying to calm her down. She struggled for a minute so I let go and she just passed out. That's it; I didn't know what to do so I called the cops." Rob shrugged. He seemed genuinely upset.

Catherine looked at the detective. He showed her his notebook. Taking a quick scan of the page it seemed he'd told the same story to both of them. Until they could talk to the old lady, they had no reason to take him in.

"Well Mr. Carson, thank you for your time. You're free to go" said Detective Hodgeson. Rob nodded then turned and slowly started making his way down the road. Turning to Catherine he added "I've got his contact info if we need to talk to him again."

"Ok thanks Detective."

As she got back in her SUV she took one more glance around the street. The ambulance was just pulling away and in the twilight the lights cast coloured shadows on the houses. Blinking she started the car.

Some time later Catherine found Warrick in the lab examining the contents of the lady's purse.

"You should know better than to go through the contents of a woman's handbag, Warrick" she jokingly chastised. Warrick jumped at the sound of her voice. Giggling slightly she took a seat next to him. "What did you get?"

"Not much. Chapstick, a doctor's appointment card from last month, family photo, her meds and these" he said removing a small handful of post-it notes from the bag.

"No wallet?"

"Yeah, it was in there too, cash and cards are all still there but no ID."

"So we have no idea who she is."

"Nope."

"Great. Milk, 210 Freshmeadow Way, Bridge" she said.

Warrick was thoroughly confused until he realized she'd been reading off the post-its. "You have any idea what this stuff means?"

"No; reminders maybe? Hey what kind of meds did you say those were?" she asked pointing to the packet.

"Brand name is Aricept, ten milligrams. You know it?"

"Never heard of it. With just the foil packet and no box we'll have to look it up. You give your phone number to the EMT who took her to the hospital?"

"Yeah, he said he'd give it to the doc, have him call when we could go talk to her. Until then all we've got is her stuff."

"Well, I'll go look up the meds if you want to keep processing." What she really needed was a moment to sneak away to make a phone call. Social services had tried to get a hold of her while she'd been driving and she needed to call them back to set up the interview appointment. Just the thought made her throat go dry.

"Sounds good, page me if you find anything."

"Likewise" she said to her dark skinned colleague with a smile. She left the room in search of an empty lab.

Sara was back to wandering the lab looking for something to do. She'd been over the evidence from her case a million times and until something new came in it was all she could do not to let her mind wander to the image of Delia Greene clinging to her in the kitchen or lying unconscious in her hospital bed. Her only hope was that the little girl would be able to tell them what had happened. Just then her phone rang, making her jump.

"Sidle" she answered. Her heart rate quickened when she heard who was on the other end. She listened intently, her brow furrowing as the conversation continued. The more she listened, the more she could hear her heart beat loudly in one ear while the person on the phone continued in the other.

"Ok thanks for the update" she said hoarsely sinking slightly into the nearest wall. Taking a deep breath she went in search of an empty lab to let the news sink in. Entering her favourite lab she was startled to see Catherine just hanging up her own phone.

Turning at the noise in the doorway Catherine winced at the pale complexion of her co-worker. "Sara? You look like you just got some bad news."

The brunette woman sank into a chair across from Catherine.

"You can say that again" she said miserably.

**TBC...**


	21. Chapter 20

They'd been sitting in a loaded silence for over 5 minutes. Sara was staring at the wall, her expression distant. Catherine finally shifted uncomfortably, breaking the other woman's gaze.

Sara blinked and looked at Catherine. "This is not how I wanted to start my shift".

Catherine nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it" she said.

Sara seemed roused from her daze. "How much do you know about my case?" she asked quietly.

"Not much, I know the victim was a young child" Catherine replied gently.

Sara nodded slowly. "She was only five, found beaten to death in her neighbour's yard. She has a sister, who's nine. I found her in their kitchen, hiding in the pantry. She's been in the hospital unconscious ever since. The hospital called, just now. They say she's been unconscious too long. Her brain activity has all but disappeared. Her parents will be lucky if she stays alive much longer."

Although Catherine had known the circumstances were grizzly, hearing Sara describe the case made it sound much more dire. She could understand Sara's listless state. Just listening to it made her own stomach flutter and she felt that familiar pull at her heart. She hated cases involving children. Before she could stop herself, Catherine reached out and covered Sara's hands with her own. Sara cringed at the contact but didn't pull away. Offering a sympathetic smile she gave her colleague's hands a small squeeze before letting go.

"She was also the only witness" Sara continued. "She was the only one who knew what happened that night. Unless we find her grandmother alive or somehow find new evidence the Sherriff's going to make Grissom close the case."

"Unsolved? It's only been what, a week?"

"Almost two, but yes. We'd have to put it on the board."

"Let me guess, political move?"

"High profile murder at the Elara Hilton. He doesn't want any other cases making press."

"Who's working that one? I didn't even know about it!" Catherine had to stop herself from shouting.

"Nick got it. I wasn't supposed to know about it either, but I wormed it out of Grissom yesterday. Apparently the less people who know, the better."

"Apparently. I can't believe I didn't know. Nick got it? Why Nick?"

"He's got the cleaner record" Sara said gingerly.

Catherine mentally cursed her big mouth. If she'd been more careful about exploding at work she wouldn't have been disciplined, and her seniority would have given her dibs on the high profile case.

Catherine nodded slowly. Exhaling she gave a short hollow laugh. She looked up at the ceiling and huffed a short breath up at her hair that had fallen in her eyes. "Well good luck to him I guess. That certainly trumps my news."

Sara nodded then shook her head. "Feel like sharing?"

"Sharing what? My news or my less than savoury opinion on Nick snagging the publicity stunt?" Catherine couldn't help the sarcasm from creeping into her voice.

"Either. I need something else to think about or I'm going to lose it if I dwell on my case much longer."

Unsure, Catherine raised an eyebrow. After short consideration she decided to divulge her news. "Well since it was really my dear ex-husband who lost me that case I'll tell you who I just talked to on the phone before you came in. You know Eddie filed with social services against me. What I didn't tell you is that this isn't the first time he's done it. He did it a year ago, and they put me on notice and interviewed Warrick. This time they want to have a formal sit down interview with me and three of my coworkers, who they'll select at random. They might even question Lindsey." Catherine surprised herself as she felt tears right behind her eyes. She shoved the emotions back and struggled to meet Sara's eyes. "I just got off the phone with their bureau. They want to talk to me next Tuesday."

"Wow. I never knew he'd already filed" Sara said thoughtfully.

"I didn't tell anyone. Only Warrick and Grissom knew. I never thought he'd have the nerve to do it again! I'm really going under the microscope this time."

Sara nodded. "If you want, we could get together some time before then if you want help preparing for the interview."

Catherine was stunned. "You want to help me?"

"I told you, if I try and think about my case much longer I'm going to go insane. Grissom convinced me that distractions aren't always a bad thing. And I said I'd help when you showed up in my living room. I won't go back on that."

Catherine felt her spirit lift slightly, even as confusion settled in her. "I have no idea how Warrick convinced me to come talk to you that day, or why I just told you all of that, but thank you."

Sara just nodded again "Easier to talk to strangers".

"Yeah, it is. Although if we keep this up you're going to be very familiar with my life."

"Is that ok?"

"I don't know. But I can't lose Lindsey, I can't even think about not having her around, or what a full blown investigation could do to my career. If that means sharing all my secrets with someone, I guess I'm more ok that it's with you than anyone else."

They returned to the heavy silence before Catherine's pager began to beep. Looking at it she sighed. The mood broken, she stood to go. "Looks like I'm needed at the hospital".

"New case?"

"Yeah, a young man said he was assaulted by an older lady. She's at the hospital, apparently she fainted after she hit him. Personally, I don't think she did it but until I talk to her I won't have a story to compare." Catherine paused in the doorway. "Talk to you later?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Ok, well, try to have a good shift".

"Not likely, but thanks." Sara offered a small smile as her colleague disappeared into the hallway.

* * *

Navigating the maze of sterile corridors on her way to her victim's room at the hospital she thought about her latest conversation with Sara. How much about her life was she really prepared to reveal to the brunette? Would she learn equally as much about her life? She doubted Sara would offer up anything of depth unless it was completely necessary. Why was it she felt she could share the intimate details of her home life with her lanky co-worker in the first place?

Even though she still couldn't quite consider them friends, there was just something about Sara that gave her a sense of reassurance. It wasn't anything Sara did or said it was just the sense Catherine got whenever she talked to her. As confusing as it was, it was also comforting. If she'd chosen to share with anyone but Sara she would have been utterly terrified of the looming interview. Finally making it to the correct floor, Catherine was directed to a series of beds partitioned off by curtains. Clearly her victim wasn't in critical condition. She took it as a good sign. At her approach, the doctor in the room turned to face her.

"Can I help you?" he asked, looking up from his charts.

"Hi, I'm Catherine Willows from the crime lab, I'm here about the assault victim" she said flashing her badge.

"Doctor O'Connor. Right, well she's right over here. Won't get much out of her right now I'm afraid" he said peeling back a curtain to reveal the patient.

The woman looked ancient, small and frail. Moving closer Catherine could see her face and hands were covered in fading bruises. The woman was clearly asleep, made obvious by the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. Catherine gently lifted one of her hands to get a better look.

"These aren't that recent are they?" she asked lowering the woman's arm.

"Nope, looks like your vic's been in a fight before. Those are from a week or two ago."

"Anything fresh?"

"Nothing I could see. She was disoriented from shock when she was brought in; the nurse gave her a sedative. It's mild, should wear off soon enough."

"So she could have been the attacker today." Catherine was still struggling to believe a woman this old could have assaulted anyone.

"Guess so. Who'd she go after?"

"A young guy. He said he found her wandering in the middle of the street."

The doctor considered this new information for a moment. "The chart said to run a tox panel. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I'll get my guys to run the full spectrum, find out what was in her system."

"Thanks. About how long until she wakes up?"

"Could be an hour. Could be two, depends."

"Any idea who she is?"

"None. No ID?"

"Nothing, not even a name."

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you" said the doctor raising an eyebrow.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Yeah tell me about it".

"Well let me know if you need anything else."

"I will, thanks" she said removing her camera from its bag to photograph the victim. As an afterthought she called the doctor back.

"Hey doc, could you give me an age estimate for her?"

"Well, it's hard to tell without knowing anything about her lifestyle, but you're looking at over seventy. From the age spots in her complexion and loss of muscle tone in her cheeks and arms I'd say she's closer to eighty."

"Eighty" repeated Catherine dubiously.

Dr. O'Connor shrugged. "That's my best guess."

Nodding Catherine turned back to the woman in the bed. Hearing the retreating footsteps of the Doctor, she drew the curtain and began processing her.

She returned to the lab shortly after to drop off the evidence. After seeing the poor woman's condition she doubted she'd be in any mood to talk. The hospital wouldn't release her until her tox panel came back which would take another day so she figured she'd return the next evening to try and interview her. Even if she was the attacker, there was an officer stationed in the hall and as old as she was it was unlikely she was going anywhere.

She dropped a sample off with Greg and took her photos to get developed. While she waited she remembered the prescription drugs. Finding an empty computer she searched for the drug. She was more than a little surprised by what she found. Sending the most informative page to the printer she stood, collected the sheet and went out to find Warrick.

**TBC**


	22. Chapter 21

**Here's the next chapter. It's a long(er) one! Just a reminder: this story deals with adult subject matter on many fronts (if you couldn't guess from the rating) including the death of a child which is talked about a bit more in this chapter. **

Catherine entered the layout room Warrick was working in holding a single sheet of paper in her hand. The darker man was sifting through their vic's purse again. He held the post-its in one hand, running the edges over the tips of his fingers on the other. He was concentrating on them as if staring at them would yield all the answers. He looked up as she approached his side.

"Hey" he said, setting the sticky papers on the table.

"Hey. Sifting through her purse again?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for evidence of something that might have set her off, explain why she attacked that kid but there's nothing here."

"I might be able to help. I looked up the meds; donepezil hydrochloride, with the brand name Aricept is a drug used as a memory enhancer."

"Memory enhancing. Well these notes would indicate it wasn't working." He gestured to the notes on the table. "Is it used for anything else?"

"Yeah, it's used to treat the early stages of dementia."

"So you're thinking our vic, or perp, I'm not sure which has dementia?"

"Maybe. And I think in this case she's the victim. If she has dementia that could explain how Mr. Carson found her wandering in the middle of the street, alone and confused."

"But I thought you said the meds were supposed to treat the confusion?"

"They are, but I think you're right. They're only effective for so long, once the disease progresses beyond a certain point they wouldn't work anymore. Those notes don't look that old, I think she was noticing her meds wearing off."

"Either that, or carrying those notes was a habit."

"Well, either that or she knew she needed new meds or someone else did."

Warrick nodded at her explanation. "Well, since Mr. Carson isn't interested in pressing charges, all we have to do is figure out who she is and get her back where she belongs."

"I'll go back to the hospital tomorrow, see if I can talk with her. I'll check missing persons too, see if anyone's reported her yet although, she may not actually be missing."

"I'll check nursing homes and retirement residences anyways, see if anyone has a missing tenant."

"Ok, let me know what you find."

"Will do."

With that they parted ways.

Catherine arrived at the hospital at the beginning of her next shift. Remembering the labyrinth of hallways fairly well she succeeded in finding her vic's room with much less difficulty. To her surprise, the bed was empty. Thankfully she spotted Dr. O'Connor just out in the hall. Turning fully she called out to catch his attention.

"Dr. O'Connor?"

He looked up. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for that Jane Doe, the old woman? Her bed's empty."

"Right. She's having some tests done at the moment."

"What kind of tests?"

"Psych eval at the moment, why?"

"Well we're still trying to figure out who she is, I wanted to talk with her. Any why the psych evaluation?"

"One of my nurses was checking in on her when she woke up. She was visibly agitated, confused and aggressive. The nurse couldn't calm her down, and she couldn't make sense of what she was saying. She called me in, and after a few minutes it became clear she's definitely showing signs of dementia. Now I'm no neurologist, but I got her tox results back. Only drug in her bloodstream was donepezil hydrochloride ten milligrams."

"Aricept. We found her prescription in her purse."

"Well then I'm guessing you know at that dosage it's used to treat confusion and memory problems in early dementia patients."

"Yes we did."

"Well since we can't figure out who she is, and I don't have her doctor's info, I ordered the appointment to see the psychiatrist to confirm a diagnosis."

"And I'm guessing I won't be able to talk to her afterwards."

"Well you can try, but I can't guarantee you'll get anything out of her. Not until she comes back into the present, if and when that happens. From my observation, the disease has progressed beyond her current prescription. If we do confirm the diagnosis I'll write her a prescription for twenty three milligrams. It's a harsher dose and has more side effects but it might keep her mind in the present. Then we'll know who she is."

"Ok, well thanks doc. Will you let me know once you've got a diagnosis? We're contacting local nursing homes and retirement residences to see if she's missing from one of them."

"Ok, if you figure out where she belongs let me know so I can release her. I'm not comfortable releasing her not knowing she's got a home to get too."

"I understand. Thanks for your time."

Back at the lab Sara heard her name from down the hall. Turning she saw Dr. Robbins making his way toward her. Pausing she waited until he caught up.

"Doc?"

"Hey Sara. I've been looking for you. I was going over the autopsy from that little girl. Remember those loose hairs I found on her; the ones that looked like hers that I bagged but didn't submit to DNA? I was reviewing my findings today and knowing how sparse the evidence is I did a quick visual comparison and they're not hers. The texture is completely different, the loose ones are much coarser."

"A piece of her attacker?"

"Could be, they're definitely human."

"Where are they now?"

"With Greg, in DNA."

"Doc, you just made my night."

Dr. Robbins just nodded. "I hope it helps."

Sara nodded enthusiastically and went off to find Greg.

Sometime near the end of their shift Catherine and Sara found themselves in the break room together. Catherine was sitting at the table rubbing her temples when Sara walked in.

"Hey" she said as she sat down across the table.

"Sara, hi" said Catherine. She sounded tired.

"Good shift?"

"Not really. We figured out our vic probably has dementia. She's still in the hospital, I'm waiting for the doctor to call me with a confirmed diagnosis. He thinks she's in need of a new prescription."

"Dementia? That explains why no one can figure out who she is. Can the evidence you have tell you anything?"

"It's not really a case since the guy she attacked doesn't want to press charges. We have to figure out who she is so we can get her home."

"Isn't that the hospital's job?"

"Yeah, but we've got her stuff and frankly this just doesn't feel finished to me. I mean she's really old, and she had faded bruises from another altercation. Warrick checked all local nursing homes, no one's missing a resident."

"She's not in missing persons?"

"No one matching her description's been reported in the last forty eight hours. Truthfully we have no idea how long she could be considered missing."

"And you think whatever happened to her before might be criminal?"

"Well yeah! I mean she's eighty years old with bruises on her face and hands, clearly confused and vulnerable."

"Possibly familial abuse?"

"Maybe. I wish we could talk to her. Even with dementia I still need her permission to get her full examination results. Who knows what's been happening to her."

Sara nodded.

Catherine continued, "The doc won't release her until they know where they're sending her. At least I know she's safe while she's over there."

"You hope. The hospital will eventually have to move her out, once she's stabilized. Most likely they'd move her to a nursing home."

"Well let's hope someone reports her missing. I've heard too many stories about nurses and doctors abusing seniors in those places."

Sara visibly shuddered. "Any institution like that is full of dark secrets. If I ever get to the point where I can't look after myself anymore, I'll put myself out of my misery. I don't want to live long enough to become a burden to my friends or family, and no one is putting me anywhere near a long-term care facility."

Catherine quirked her eyebrows. "I don't let myself think about getting old. It's not good for my health or my looks. I mean, don't get me wrong, when you're young its romantic to think about finding that one person and growing old together, but in reality how many couples retire to peace and quiet these days?"

Sara frowned. "I would imagine not many."

Catherine let out a deep sigh. "You make any progress on your case yet?"

"Actually I've got some new evidence to process."

"You do? What is it?"

"Hairs Doc Robbins found on the little girl. We initially thought they were hers, pulled out during the fight, but by visual comparison they're not hers. The Doc bagged them during autopsy but just dropped them off with Greg for a DNA comparison earlier tonight."

"Finally. That's good news."

"It would be, except that Greg is swamped running biologicals from Nick's dead philanthropists case, and he's been ordered to give Nick's stuff priority."

"Did you tell Grissom?"

"Grissom's been put on Nick's case as supervisor. He ordered priority processing."

"He left you solo?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't his call. Those orders came from higher up."

"So who's supervising the rest of night shift?"

"I don't know that anyone is, officially."

"Right, because according to Ecklie and the Sherriff there is only case in Vegas right now."

"Yeah."

"Well while Warrick and I sit around hoping our Jane Doe magically spits out her name and address maybe we can take a crack at your case? I mean, if you'll have our help."

"Actually it could use a fresh set of eyes."

"Well we've got an hour left in the shift, want to bring in the case file? I'll round up Warrick and fill him in on what's happening."

"Sure, reconvene in ten?"

"Ten it is."

Just shy of ten minutes later, Warrick, Catherine and Sara were back in the break room. Catherine was pacing back and forth in front of the table while Sara and Warrick looked on. Finally she spoke.

"Alright, here's what I know. Grissom's gone to supervise Nick's high profile double homicide leaving Sara solo on her case. Now normally that wouldn't be so bad, Sara I know you'd jump at the chance to work solo."

Sara nodded her confirmation. Warrick nodded too. There wasn't anyone on the team who wouldn't.

"However;" Catherine continued, "this time, it's a bit different. The Sherriff is trying to keep the case on the DL, and get it solved ASAP which is how Nick got it and the rest of us found out through the grapevine. The Sherriff doesn't want any of it getting out to the media, so everyone working the case is being pretty tight lipped. The problem is the rest of us have zero access to our normal resources to get any of our work done.

"What do you mean?" asked Warrick.

"He's highjacked all the techs." Sara answered. Warrick still looked confused so she explained. "All of our lab techs have been ordered to put Nick's stuff on priority, so we can't get any data."

Warrick nodded. "So what are you proposing? Sara's the only one with a case open."

"Yeah, which is going to get closed if I don't make any headway. I have a feeling it would be closed already if Grissom hadn't intervened."

"Right, and since you and I are really just waiting to find out where to send our Jane Doe, I'm proposing we work together to try and prove this case is worth solving." Catherine answered.

"It is worth solving" said Sara fiercely.

Sensing the tension rise rapidly Warrick intervened. "So you're going to be our supervisor and the three of us will work Sara's case."

"That's the idea. Any objections?"

Sara looked like she might object on principle, but she kept her mouth shut. If she was going to make progress on her case she needed their help.

Warrick seemed skeptical. "You know this could be considered mutiny."

"It's not mutiny. While I appreciate that wealthy philanthropists murdered and loads of missing cash is important so are the lives of two children."

"Children? Ah man, yeah I'm in." said Warrick. "Sara, run the case for me?"

Sara sighed. "Two weeks ago a five year old girl was killed in her own backyard. Someone attacked her and her nine year old sister while Grandma was babysitting. The nine year old is currently clinging to life in the hospital and Grandma is missing and presumed dead. The only physical evidence we have is a bunch of smudged finger prints, most of which were run and came back to the girls or their parents and as discovered today some hairs found on the five year old that might belong to her attacker."

"No blood evidence?"

"We ran everything we found. It all came back to the two little girls."

"Damn" swore Warrick quietly.

"Yeah. We found some blood on a rock in the yard, it came back to the five year old. It looks like she was struck down and hit her head. It didn't take much to subdue her."

"What about shoe prints?"

"Between the police, the paramedics the neighbours and us it got pretty messy out there. I haven't finished processing all the photos and impressions Grissom took, but it doesn't look like there are any clean ones."

"Have you talked to the parents?"

"They were out of the country. They're in shock, the wife can barely speak."

"Understandable" chimed in Catherine.

"And there's no sign of their Grandmother?"

"None. Brass has an APB out on her, we've tried her home address and the address of one of her friends. No one knows anything. This is them, the family." Sara said as she pulled a photocopy of the small wallet photo from the case folder.

"Is that the grandmother?" asked Catherine pointing at the frail looking woman in the photo.

"Yeah, the father says she's eighty two."

"Eighty two." Warrick gave a low whistle.

"Wait a minute." Said Catherine suddenly. Both Warrick and Sara turned to look at her. "Wait, wait." She was fumbling for something in her bag.

"What is it?" asked Sara.

"That photo. The woman. I've seen her…" she trailed off as she concentrated on finding the right page in her own folder. "Here!" she exclaimed setting a case photo down on the table. The photo was of the Jane Doe in the hospital. Three pairs of eyes stared at the two photos side by side. Finally Sara broke the silence.

"You've found her. That's her, that's their grandmother. That's Leila Greene."

_**TBC**_


End file.
